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ft @ask-brianmc and @askrikimaru

[arthenaa]

UN Village — roommate!mizu x f!reader

synopsis: a glimpse into the life after being 'just' roommates.

content: 18+, nsfw, gay ass sex, gay ass losers, gay gay gay, short domestic glimpses of your life with mizu as your gf slash roommate slash best friend and your cat named nora. can be read as a one shot, you and mizu call each other bon/bonnie as an endearment, she/her pronouns for both reader and mizu.

author's note: this is a compilation of the requests I received from my inbox! namely the ones requesting hcs plus nsfw parts. (to that one anon with a specific request for the nsfw part, know that ill be going along with some of your ideas! will be tweaking it a bit <3) i also have a hc that mizu is well off ... both bc of her father's hard work and that she also has a stable job despite still being in university. anys, enjoy!

parts: blurred lines, mizu as your roommate

Life as a couple wasn't all that different—a realization you've reached after observing your first few months with Mizu together. Aside from the access to overly exaggerated kisses and must-have energy-charging hugs, things were the same as they were before.

Grocery shopping on Saturdays is still a rotational thing, you cook, she cleans—sometimes when both of you feel a little too lazy to cook dinner, take-outs from that diner near 2nd Street are a must. She walks you to class, drives you to wherever you want, and you buy her her favorite tea as a reward for working hard.

If anything, your domestic rituals have been quite rewarding whenever you've come to the realization that yes, Mizu is yours and that you don't have to deal with all the angsty shit that came with having that realization. Everything was a breeze.

Speaking of working hard, Mizu had been quite busy as of late. Always unintentionally locking herself up in her room or getting home late some days. You knew her schedule well enough that this wasn't a result of her academics but of her work. You never knew how Mizu could balance her work and academic life so well but you suppose that's part of what makes her so ... Mizu.

You could see the exhaustion from the way she touches her temple more often or the bouncing of her knee whenever you two plan on working on requirements at the library (the librarian had been lenient with her judgment after the two of you gave her 'sorry' cookies the other day, it was quite funny). You knew that Mizu was getting overwhelmed with whatever she was dealing with at work.

So, as the loving girlfriend that you are, you wanted to give her a time to rest and motivation to overcome whatever block that's hindering her creativity and process in completing her work.

You make careful footsteps towards her room—shushing Nora who mews softly at your feet. You balance the tray to one arm as the other gently reaches to twist the doorknob. The hinges on the wooden door squeak as you push it open, revealing your girlfriend hunched over her desktop. Her room is as simple as it can be, white walls adorned with a few of her framed pictures—some were posters of her favorite bands and films while the others were collages of her favorite moments, captured by a camera she had bought on her first paycheck. You see the infamous cactus you gifted her on her birthday perched on top of her shelves alongside a few books and comics that she collected over the years. The minimalistic feel of her room does bring a calming effect whenever you enter her space (which is why more often than not, sleepovers are in her room than yours). Your attempts to not disturb her work continue due to the noise-canceling headphones pulled over her head. You see Mizu pinch the bridge of her nose, her glasses nudged up before she adjusts them back on her face. Your eyes soften at the view.

Gently placing the tray on her dresser, you make careful steps towards her hunched figure before moving to wrap your arms around her shoulders. She tenses for a moment but at the whiff of your familiar scent, she immediately melts in your touch. You pull away slightly as she pulls her headphones off, placing it on the table before going back to your previous position.

"Hey," You softly murmur, cheek pressed to her temple. She hums at your voice, eyes still trained on her tablet perched on a stand. "How are you doing?"

Mizu twirls her digital pen in her hand—the stiff length of her pen gliding smoothly along her fingers. She nudges your head to acknowledge your presence. "Fine," She says.

You knew Mizu tends to downplay her feelings a lot. It was a common problem you both encountered throughout both your friendship and relationship. She tends to be more service-giving and prioritizes your welfare over her own. While you truly appreciate her attentiveness to your well-being, it does bring concern whenever she says things that don't really resonate with how she looks and feels. You've since learned to grow atoned to her body language—knowing at a glance at her mannerisms and communicating more definitely helps a lot in the long run.

You place a kiss on her temple, hugging her tight as she focuses back on her task. You decide not to push too much on it. "Did you get assigned new work?"

Mizu hums, nodding slightly as she makes quick notes on her tablet. "Yeah. They needed a lot of manpower on this one."

Your arms move back to grab her shoulders, thumbs making circular motions on the area available to you. Mizu sighs at the feeling. "So it's a big project, huh?"

Mizu nods once more before pausing. There's a slight reprieve as you continue to ease the tense muscles on her shoulders. She then turns slightly, eyes looking up at you both in curiosity and gratefulness. "What's up with you?"

You smile down at her, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her lips before turning towards the tray of her favorite food on her dresser. "Got you some food and your favorite tea."

Mizu lightens up at your words, turning in her office chair and pulling you between her legs. She buries her face on your stomach, hands on your hips. "Thank you, Bonnie."

Her words pull a flush from your cheeks—still getting butterflies from her attention. You gently pat the top of her head, making sure not to stress the already messy bun haphazardly tied on a whim. A few strands of her hair escape the hairdo with each gentle slide of your palm on her head. You let out a grumble, hands making their way to pull the tie off her hair. Mizu chuckles at your movements.

"Was I too quiet?" Mizu asks as she feels your hands run through her hair—gathering all the strands with careful swoops. You hum at her response.

"Not really," You respond as you twist her hair in its usual style before beginning to tie it off with her hair tie. "Why?"

Mizu blinks softly, enjoying your ministrations on her head. She yawns. "I don't know. Just worried that I might've been ignoring you or something."

You pause at the last twist of her tie, gently pulling away to take a look at her face. The exhaustion is evident—bags under her eyes, eyes blinking slow, and the slouch on her posture. However, despite it all, her eyes and face remain softened and loving at the sight of you. A soft smile pulls from your lips.

"You haven't," Your hands gently cup her face as you angled it up towards you. "You don't have to worry about a thing, Mizu. Whatever you need, I'll be right here."

She gazes into your eyes, processing your heartfelt words before a genuine smile bursts from her lips. Your heart thunders at its brightness and you can't help but return its intensity.

"I love you." She murmurs, eyes filled with gratitude. You revel in its warmth.

"I love you too."

"Mizu?" You call out to the empty living room, not noticing the familiar raven-haired girl typically lounging in the living space around this time. You knew because Mizu often tends to do her leisure time in the living room where it has an open space and just an overall change of pace in the morning. You had gone out to do the groceries as Mizu did hers last week. You half expected her to be at the same spot when you returned but didn't overthink it. She was probably back at her room or fixing up that clog in the bathroom. You placed your shoes on the side before walking towards the kitchen to drop the grocery bags.

You begin to place the items in their respective places before realizing another equation to the problem. Nora was also nowhere to be found. Your heart speeds up,

"Nora? Mizu?" You call out, placing the bag of fruits down to find you two missing culprits. "Where are you?"

While Mizu was a generally quiet person and Nora being stealthy like a damn mosquito, they often wandered to your presence and so you expected that your girlfriend would call back and Nora's feet would begin to pitter patter its way towards you. There were only a few other options that you could consider where those two disappeared to. First, Mizu must have taken her out for a walk. Nora tends to be restless in the morning and prefers going out when the sun is high and the temperature is just right. Second, probably in Mizu's bedroom—those two tend to nap when you're not in sight, probably because most of the time their energy is just you with 5% of their actual energy. You decide to go with the second option for now.

You make careful steps towards Mizu's room, knocking on the wooden surface before opening the door. The lights are off and the room's spotless. Mizu must be out. You turn towards your room just in case. You're greeted with the bed you made this morning. You scratch your head in thought, confused as to where those two might have gone.

Just as you begin to worry, the sound of the door's security system unlocking through the keypad resounds through the hallway. You make your way towards the living space to see Mizu with an armful of carboard boxes and Nora trailing behind her. They both pause at the sight of you.

"Oh," Mizu blinks at you as if she had been caught sticking her hand somewhere she shouldn't have. You blink back in response. "You're home."

Nora meows in response to your rather unexpected predicament. Your eyes dart from Mizu, to Nora, to the boxes in Mizu's arms.

"... What's that?" You watch as Mizu gently places the items down with a sigh before turning towards you with a sheepish smile.

"I got Nora a tower," She responds hesitantly, gauging your reaction to her response. There's a few moments of silence as you process the information.

You remain speechless. If anything, you were the one who mostly spoils Nora. Having too much similarities to your grumpy looking girlfriend, you couldn't help but coddle the kitty. Mizu on the other hand tends to bond with cat through silent stares or squinting at each other as if they have their own form of communication. It's safe to say that you're quite amused at the fact that Mizu was the one who brought her

A laugh escapes your lips at the thought, watching as Mizu furrows her eyebrows in confusion while Nora simply meows beside her.

"How did you even—" You cover your mouth in an attempt to calm yourself down from the impending laughter. "When did you even get this?"

Mizu rolls her eyes. "I got it last week. When you had class—" She pauses at the sound of your laughter. "Why is this so funny to you?"

You grin at her grumpy attitude. "I just didn't expect that you'll be the one getting her the tower. I thought you settled for the treats?"

Mizu snorts as she settles down on the carpeted floor, pulling one of the smaller boxes towards her. "Since when was I limited to that?"

You grin excitedly, rushing over to her side with ease. Mizu chuckles at your enthusiasm. You place a kiss on her cheek causing your girlfriend to pause and turn her attention towards you.

"That's so hot of you, Bonnie," You coo, utterly enamored by her. Mizu's soften, the corner of her lips upturned.

There's a softened tension between the two of you as Mizu's eyes roam all over your face. There's a mischievous look on her face. "All it takes for me to get between your legs is a cat tower, really?"

You grin wide at her words. You decide to tease back. "Can you blame me? That's wife material right there."

Mizu drops the box on the floor before finally turning her body to you with an eyebrow upturned. "So you're saying you'll marry me over a cat tower?"

You shrug. "I mean, you, breathing is enough—"

You squeal as you feel the sudden rise of your body from the ground. Mizu sweeps you into her arms, one arm wrapped around your waist and the other gripping your thigh. You flush in her hold as you wrap your legs around her waist.

You squirm in her hold. "Mizu, I didn't say now!"

The raven haired woman pays no attention to your whims as she steps over the boxes and begins to make her way towards her room. "We can do that later." She hums, carrying you with ease.

You turn towards Nora who stares up at both of her parents, innocently licking her paw. "N-Nora!" You whine over Mizu's back. "Nora, help mommy!"

The cat only stretches—letting a loud meow before it jumps on the couch and curls into a ball. You whine at the lack of attentiveness to your apparent danger as your girlfriend chuckles at your try of escaping.

"The cat won't help you, y'know?"

"Mizu!"

"What about this?" Your eyes lock with your girlfriend through the mirror as you fix the front of your dress. Akemi's birthday is just around the corner and plans of going out had been arranged and planned out. The birthday gal had wanted to celebrate her night at a club and your wardrobe lacked the proper attire for an occassion like that. So you went shopping.

The thing is, Mizu had always been your outfit decision-maker. You didn't think much of it before when her gaze landed on yours whenever you showed her an array of outfits for whatever occasion. Now, you feel her stare more intensely as if a knife had delicately touched its tip against your skin and marked its way down with a gentle grip—not enough to harm but enough to entice a reaction.

The dress you chose was satin with a color of your choice—backless and hung around your curves nicely. You subtly turn your body as you admire its simplistic design. Mizu hums from her position on the bed, laying on her side with her elbow propped up to support her weight. You see her tilt her head, eyes taking their sweet time to analyze your figure.

"Bon?" You ask as you turn towards her. Her eyes are half-lidded and you can sense from a mile away the familiar look on her face but you remain ignorant of the tension brewing between you. You choose to turn back towards the mirror, fixing your hair as you adjust the straps. "I don't know if it's fit for a nightclub or an evening dine."

You hear Mizu hum. Just then, you hear shifting on the bed before sock-cladded feet pad through the wooden floors. You see Mizu's figure behind you in the mirror—the subtle size difference of her broad shoulders compared to you heats your cheeks. Her arms make their way around your waist, pulling you flush against her chest as she props her chin on your shoulder. Your eyes lock on the reflection in the mirror as you take careful notes of her appearance. Hair pulled in a half bun, blue eyes devoid of their usual black-rimmed glasses, figure clad in black with a familiar gold chained necklace wrapped loosely around her neck, and her wrist adorned by a silver watch you gifted her on her birthday last year. You heave a breath at the intensity of her stare.

"You look pretty," She mumbles, eyes lost in your figure before placing a soft kiss on your neck. A shiver runs through your spine at her affection, feeling it take course through the expanse of your shoulder. It's slow and soft—making sure each scar and imperfection is not left untouched. You squirm in her arms.

"Mizu," You hum, voice deep and sultry as you lean your head back, allowing her more space to work with. "You're not working with me."

The raven haired gal laughs against your skin as she continues with her ministrations. You feel her hands rumple the fabric, clutching the soft satin material as it bunches up between her fingers. The hem rises up to your thighs, granting your lover a sweet view of home.

"What?" She asks with a teasing tone. You grumble at her mischievous nature. "I was just answering your question."

"I asked if it fit—" You moan slightly as she sucks on the familiar spot behind your ear. "N-not if I was hot. There's a difference."

"Is there?" Her breath hits your ear with a slight deep chuckle of her voice. You feel her trail her kisses towards the nape of your neck, hands beginning to caress your thighs. You watch as the hem of your dress practically rise up to the top of your thighs, granting no sense of decency. You whine as you feel her kiss down your shoulder blades, tongue licking out to mouth at the valley between your shoulders.

"You're so unfair," You breathe out, back arching as she slides her hands to your hips, pulling you back against hers. She smiles, nudging your head to the side as she buries hers against your neck. Your eyes meet at the reflection, gauging each other's response. You would've thought that her ministrations would end then and there but you shouldn't have underestimated your girlfriend. After all, it's always the quiet ones.

Mizu boldly cups your cunt over your dress—a moan escaping your lips. She pulls you flush against her as she nips against the tip of your ears. You remain pinned against her chest, her arm strength keeping you close.

"You fucker," You pant, mouth opening up to a grin as you gripped her arm. She merely gives a you a smirk as she hikes her hand up, grinding her palm against you. Your knees falter.

"I give you my opinion and you curse me out?" Mizu laughs against your ear, placing a peck on your cheek. "Not cute, babe."

"God, you're so annoying," You sigh, hand reaching out to bury itself in Mizu's raven locks. Your girlfriend merely hums, eyes watching you get lost in the pleasure of her fingers. It's as if the fuse in Mizu's head had began to run out of course, she then pulls away from your back and turns you towards her with ease.

You flush as she manhandles you in her arms, pulling you up to wrap your legs around her waist. You grasp at her shoulders at the sudden movement. She pauses, eyes calculating as she eyes you up like a predator waiting for its prey to back down, and knowing you, you'd never back down just like that.

You wrap your arms around her neck, leaning close to brush your lips against hers. "Gonna pull this dress off me or what?" You hum, nose brushing against hers. "If you're too busy eyeing me up instead of fucking me, I got a pretty handy vibrator back in my cabinet."

She chuckles at your boldness, jaw clenching at your words. "You're a fucking brat, y'know that?"

You giggle as she moves you towards the bed. "Gets you every time."

"Why are you limping like that?" Ringo asks you one day as you met up with him and Akemi for class. Thank the Gods that Ringo is naturally innocent like that. It saves you the embarrassment of having to tell two people what Mizu did to you in the morning. Akemi, however, merely raises an eyebrow at you—shaking her head like a disappointed mother. You had underestimated the time it took to get ready, and Mizu in bed wasn't exactly a good component in your determination to focus in the morning. Add the fact that your horny and Mizu is feeling quite energetic at 7 am.

"When I said that I'm happy for you, I was hoping that you'd get to keep the private matters of your relationship finally to a minimum and not for the whole world to see," Akemi deadpans. Ringo looks at her with furrowed eyebrows. "It's quite contradicting but you get my point."

You give her a sheepish smile at her words while Akemi merely sips on her iced coffee. Ringo turns to you with a smile, his hand forming a thumbs up. "Ignore her, I am happy for you."

Akemi grumbles, shifting her leg over her knee. "Can we not talk about this right now? We're about to have an exam."

You and Ringo share a playful look at Akemi's quips, not wanting to be at the receiving end of Akemi's fury. The classroom was slowly filling in with students—all having the same look of despair and exhaustion for the test in a few minutes. You turn towards your bag, hand rummaging through the array of essentials carefully packed from the night before. Your eyebrows furrow as you can't feel the familiar material of your pen case.

"Oh fuck," You murmur, tone panicking as you peered inside your bag. Ringo and Akemi glance at you in concern.

"What?" Ringo asks, ever the concerned hubby that he is. You let a shaky breath as you can't see the familiar cat patterned pen case that Mizu gifted to you last year. Your essentials for the test were in there! While a pen might've been easy to borrow, the other materials were definitely something you couldn't get away with. You turn to Akemi and Ringo with a frown.

"I think I left my pen case at the dorm." You huff in frustration, glancing at the front to check the time. "I can't go back, there's not enough time."

Akemi sighs, head nudging to your phone. "Check with your girlfriend. She might be nearby."

Your shoulders lower in hesitance. "It's class hours. Don't you think I'll be a bother?"

Ringo chuckles quietly in his seat. "You think Mizu would care about that?"

Akemi snorts before propping her arm on the table to place her chin on her palm. "What he said."

You sigh, contemplating your options before finally giving in.

You put your phone down on the surface of your table, cheeks heating up from the conversation. 15 minutes pass with ease and you're left twiddling your thumbs as you glance back and forth from the door to the clock in front.

Just as she said, Mizu appears at the small window of the door, hand waving awkwardly as she raises your pen case. You immediately stand up from your seat, earning curious glances from Akemi and Ringo. You pay them no mind as you shuffle your way to the door, gently opening it to not draw attention before closing it with a soft push behind you.

"Hey," Mizu's deep voice infiltrates your senses as you turn towards her. You immediately take note of her outfit—dark blue rayon skipper collared blouse with sleeves that reached her arms halfway, pale brown slacks cuffed to her ankles, and a pair of white sneakers. Her hair is in its usual bun with the added flare of her orange tinted glasses. You snicker.

Mizu sighs, tilting her head with a deadpan stare. "Why are you laughing?"

You glance at the empty corridor before wrapping your arms around her waist. "You look like a walking sponsor for Uniqlo."

Mizu scoffed, raising the hand grasping the pen case before gently bonking it on your forehead. "You ought to be more thankful to me, pretty."

You grin up at her, hugging her close as you prop your chin on her sternum. You squint your eyes, giving her your most mischievous look. "I'll be sure to put that on my new year's list."

Mizu rolls her eyes, pushing you gently off her before jokingly slamming your pen case on your hand. "There," She says before presenting another paper bag on your hand. "Also, here."

You glance at the paper bag then at her—those perfectly thick and plucked eyebrows arching at you as she waves the paper bag for you to take. You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. "What's that?"

Mizu shrugged as you peered inside to see a half filled cup of your favorite drink in a large size. You look up at Mizu who tilts her head to the side with a smile. "I got it this morning. Meant to save some for you."

You purse your lips as your heart softens at the gesture. "Mizu," You coo. The gal only leans forward and places a kiss on your forehead.

"Now go ace that test, bon," She smiles. "I'll get you after class."

She waves you goodbye before jogging towards the elevators. You sigh dreamily as she disappears into the corner before walking back inside your classroom. You maneuver your way towards your desk, earning a couple of side glances from Akemi and Ringo.

You sit down, giddily settling down on your seat before you hear someone clear their throat beside you.

"Homesexuals," Akemi clears her throat beside you to which Ringo snorts at. You shoot a glare at them in response.

Mizu is generally, a patient person.

Despite her grumpy responses towards Ringo or her perpetual furrowed eyebrows, eyes squinted into a glare, and her frowned lips whenever Taigen enters the scene, Mizu still is a patient person. You've rarely seen her angry and when she does become angry, it often comes out in seething silence. Eyes that bore into the depths of your soul, face hardened enough to not show any emotion, and a stance evoking authority and dominion over the situation.

You saw it once. When a guy tried to force himself on you during a campus party. It was an unfortunate event really and you didn't want things to escalate but the man didn't back down with his flirting (if you could even call it that). Let's just say that the night ended with a bruise on their face and it's definitely not Mizu.

You're well aware that your girlfriend can pack a punch and certainly knows how to use it. She's well built and has a lot of strength for someone her stature. Taigen calls it a sleeper build—a passing glance from when Mizu helped out with moving Akemi's furniture to her new condo. You definitely agree with that.

That's why you're internally panicking for the aftermath of a similar situation from Akemi's birthday nightout.

"Mizu," You pant, trying to call for her attention but the blinding force of her anger continues to drive her need for you. "Mizu—Ngh! Please listen to me—"

Mizu continues her ministrations on your neck, paying no mind to your squirming body as her hand grabs your thigh with ease—anchoring it to her waist as she slots her torso between your legs.

"Fuck," She growls against the skin of your neck, hair in disarray from the sloppy and heavy makeout session on the way to your bedroom. You vividly remember knocking a frame off your console table when Mizu slammed you against its edge. "I should've fucked him up."

You whine at the bite of her teeth on your shoulder—grasping at her shoulders. "Baby, we have to talk about this—"

Her thigh slots between your legs and hikes it up against your cunt—you mewl at the pressure. Mizu pulls away from your shoulder, licking her lips as she peers down at you with darkened shades of blue. "Talk? You want to talk?"

Her tone resounds with mockery and sarcasm, a seething remembrance of her fury from just a few hours ago. Typically, this behavior would startle you at first but you've grown to learn and love this blue-eyed woman after the years you've spent pining and being oblivious to each other's affection.

"You're not going to do this to me, Mizu," You snarl back, letting out a breathy sigh as her free hand begins to move your hips against her thigh. "You made us leave Akemi's party because of this—that's not–Hngh—t-that's not okay—Fuck!"

Mizu darkly chuckles as she begins to roam her hand underneath your dress. "You talk too much for someone who's about to get fucked."

"Shut the fuck up," You try to return the dominance but her skillful pulls and push of your hips leaves you breathless and keening at her touch. "That guy isn't even worth it, why'd you even—why?"

Mizu feels the inside of your thigh, reveling in the soft flesh as she creeps closer to your mound. "Didn't like the way he looked at you. Mothefucker had the audacity to ask for your number as if he didn't see my hand gripping your thigh. I fucking hate that."

You feel her fingers teeter over the edge of your panties—skin thumbing the material of your underwear, a surprise you wished would be unveiled in different circumstances.

Mizu kisses your pulse point, making sloppy kisses on the area as she continues to speak. "Everything's worth it if it's you."

You arch and mewl at her words, head moving back to give her more room. Mizu smiles at your reaction.

"You like that?" She chuckles deeply. "Like it when I'm being possessive, huh?"

"Oh God," You groan. "Are you going to fuck me or what?"

Mizu pulls away from your neck, brushing her nose against yours as she peers down at your irritated features. "So demanding," She smiles as she leans close and brushes her lips against yours.

Having had enough, your hand grabs her raven tresses—gripping it as you pull her down to close the distance between your mouths. It's all wet and full of passion—desperate sliding of lips against yours. She tilts her head, begging for deeper access as she slides out her tongue to feel more of you. There's a battle for dominance—a battle she's desperately winning. You pull away with a bite on her bottom lip, gently pulling it before licking your lips.

"Damn." Mizu lets out a breathless chuckle from the kiss, all the more turned on from your confident nature. You smile up at her with a grin.

"I suggest putting all that anger into something useful," You pant as you guide her hand to pull your dress up more.

You watch as she pulls the dress off, eyes widening at the lingerie set you've worn for the night. You see her hunger double at the sight.

"Fuck me up, Mizu." You mewl as you arch your back to present your body to her. Her jaw clenches at your words.

Just as you had said those words, you yelp in surprise as she pulls you down the bed—sheets ruffling in the process before pinning your legs to your chest.

"I'll fucking kill anyone who gets to see you like this," Her words are dark—an apparent shiver running through your spine at the process. You mewl at her domineering figure, watching as she marvels at the way the fabric highlights your figure.

Mizu then moves the fabric covering your cunt to the side, letting out a shaky breath at the process. She dives in without hesitance, tongue poking out to take a straight and slow lick from your hole to your clit.

"Oh!" You moan loudly, hand darting to grasp at her raven locks. "Fuck!"

She wastes no time in eating you out—licking and slurping as if this is the last meal she'll ever have. Your thighs quiver at the magnitude of pleasure she brings forth. You've never been this overwhelmed with the pleasure as you choke over your moans—grasping and clawing at the sheets or her hand gripping your thighs. You eye her arms—sleeves of her button-up hiked up to her elbows, showcasing the veins popping and rising at the harsh grip she has on your body. The sight heats you up even more.

You flush as she peers up at you from the comforts of your pussy—blue eyes clouded with lust and want as she makes precise twirls and flicks with her tongue. Goddamn her mouth feels like fucking heaven.

"You're so pretty," She mouths over your clit, teasing with a few licks before spreading it with her fingers to not let one spot untouched. You moan at her tenacity. "All mine. All fucking mine."

Just as the pleasure couldn't get any worse, Mizu rubs her index and middle over your hole before slipping it inside with ease. With all the wetness from her mouth and the slick coming from you, the penetration is done with no difficulty. She then makes a few thrusts of her fingers before flexing her digits in a come hither motion. The tips of her lengthy digits reach the familiar gummy spot within you. You yelp at the sudden spike of pleasure, thighs slightly closing.

"Right here?" She asks, breathless. You become lost in the pleasure—drunk from the high Mizu's giving you.

"Ngh! Mizu please!" You plead, unsure of what exactly you're asking. Mizu licks her lips before adjusting her hand—palm brushing over your clit. She then begins to speed up her thrusts—making an up-and-down motion on her wrist as wet noises begin to come out of your cunt.

"M-Mizu! F-Fuck—I can't—!" You scream as the tips of her fingers continuously hit that familiar spot. She pays no mind to your whims, ignoring your hands reaching out to grab her arm. It doesn't take too long before you feel an intense knot in your core, as if you're going to release something you shouldn't. With a final flick of her wrist, a ray of clear liquid squirts out of your pussy as you scream in pleasure. You twitch and shiver in her hold as she darts down to slurp up your release.

You whine and keen at the sensitivity, hands darting out to push Mizu away. She continues to lick every part of your cunt—swollen and perfectly pink from her ministriations. "M-Mizu! S-Stop—Hah—please—!"

Once satisfied, the raven-haired gal moves up with a smile. "Good girl," she praises.

You watch as she removes the rest of you and her clothes then untying her hair before adjusting your legs—raising the other as she slots between them. You whine at the sensitivity.

"I can't, please—" You sob, eyes tearing up from being oversensitive. Mizu coos at you as she grinds her cunt against yours. You flinch, hands darting down to her hips.

"Yes you can baby," She kisses your leg, holding it to her shoulder. "You can give me one more, won't you angel?"

You pant as she speeds up her thrusts, the pleasure begins to build up once more. Your first orgasm wasn't far along and so the coming of the second comes with ease. You remain listless on the sheets, eyes watching as Mizu's hips make skillful circles—cunt rubbing against yours deliciously.

"Tell me you're mine," She pants, hair gathered to her shoulder. The sweat and flush on her skin make her more ethereal. "Tell me who do you belong to, hm?"

She demands rather than asks and with the cloudiness of the high she keeps giving you, you succumb to her authority.

"I-I'm yours," You whine, hands gripping her thighs as she begins to speed up. You feel the familiar knot of your climax begin to unravel. "I'm yours."

Mizu's thrusts begin to become inconsistent and with a few more grinds and circles of her hips, you release with a loud moan as Mizu follows after.

She drops down on you with a pant, obviously exhausted from the strenuous activity. There's a moment of reprieve as you revel in the afterglow of sex.

Your laughter breaks the silence. "You should get jealous more often," You jest. "So that I can get laid like this again—Fuck that was good."

Mizu chuckles from her spot on your neck. She props herself up with her arms beside your head. "And here you were asking to talk when we both knew that's never going to happen."

You giggle at her words, arms wrapping around her waist. You then let out a sigh. "God, I love your tongue."

Mizu rolls her eyes, gently removing herself from the sweaty intertwine of limbs. You pout at the loss of her body heat. "Starting to think that you really just love me for my body, don't you?"

You raise your hands in a joking manner. "Consider me guilty."

Mizu throws a pillow towards you before rising from the bed. You admire her naked figure as she runs her fingers through her raven locks. Mizu notices your gaze.

"Keep your eyes to yourself, creep." She squints her eyes to glare. You roll your eyes in response.

"Such a hypocrite," You retort. "As if you weren't rambling about how possessive you we—AGH!"

The raven-haired girl tackles you into the bed, hands coming to tickle you to death. You both laugh and giggle at each other, reveling in the atmosphere brought forward by your chemistry.

You suppose you could never get tired of this. Not when it's Mizu.

___

There's not much change after you and Mizu finally got together but u suppose its probably the cat

Mizu has the tendency to match with your outfit. Whenever you ask her abt it, she just claims its a coincidence

When Mizu got her first camera, she took pictures of you and her together. She got the film printed. (She has a picture of you on the back of her phone and you have hers on yours)

Your go to gift for Mizu are socks and tea

Mizu is eerily similar to Nora. Sometimes you catch them pausing and staring at each other in the living room. it's quite funny.

Peers around campus are funnily giving you thumbs up and congratulatory shakes as if you getting together is a monumental achievement in history (It's bc of Taigen).

Mizu becomes all the more service-giving once you get together (she opens doors for you, pulls your chair for you to sit on, brushing a stray hair away from your face). She likes it bc u give her kisses now.

Mizu subconsciously plays with your fingers when holding hands. Though her fave part to put her hand on is your thighs. she claims that she likes the feeling.

Mizu often asks for your opinion on things whether it be for work, academics, or day to day life. Its because she regards you important and dear to her. She wants to share her life with you.

The moment you disclosed your relationship with your friends, Ringo legit pulled out a party popper

Mizu IS a walking UNIQLO sponsor (you cannot count how many rayon blouses she has in her closet. she claims its bc she likes the fabric)

You jokingly proposed to Mizu with a candy pop ring. Mizu proposed to you back with a can tab.

Mizu orders her drinks in the largest cup size bc she gives it to u after when u meet up for lunch mwehe (coincidentally its your fave drink as well)

Taigen was so confused as to why Mizu just bolted from her seat (pen case part) during their lab time together and when he asked what happened when she came back, she said, "Ah. Bonnie needed help." Taigen wants to explode.

Mizu is quite open to casual PDA. she says goodbye to u in the form of forehead kisses.

overall, you and Mizu are just so cute and so mwa mwa and i just wanna put yall in my pocket hehe

______________

A/N: HEYAAA this is finally done. not proofread so im gonna have to make edits to this tom. happy new year everyone !!! hope u like this roommate mizu! also to the ppl who saw this halfway done... no u didnt ....

[seriousbrat]

what would the marauders' (+ lily and snape's) tastes in literature and poetry be like? i like to think remus would be a kafka guy and i see lily as a big fan of sylvia plath and the romantic movement, but i'm curious about your take

Ahh I love this question soo much and I've been thinking about it a lot! Thank you for asking ❤️

James

sorry to say but this is a Kerouac bitch. this is a bitch who likes 'boy fiction' like On the Road and Catcher in the Rye. I also think James would like epic fantasy like Lord of the Rings, and science fiction like Dune.

Also, I'm just going to go with Muggle (aka real. lol) literature for this BUT I also want to say that I have invented a wizarding poet that Fleamont is really into for my fic, (this is just an excuse to write/include poetry lol) and James would like that too, having grown up with it. ALSO in my mind James would read poems about Quidditch lol

As for poetry, I think he'd like Beat poetry. But also TS Eliot and Dylan Thomas, similar to Remus, and Yeats, like Lily. An Irish Airman Forsees His Death is perhaps my favourite poem of all time and I think it would REALLY resonate with James. Especially since 'a lonely impulse of delight' would also drive him to 'this tumult in the clouds.' wahhh i love that poem

Sirius

I think Sirius would skew a little darker than James. Honestly as much as he'd hate this he might have a bit in common literature-wise with Snape lol, so I'm giving him Camus, The Stranger, and Sartre, Nausea.

as for poetry, Ginsberg's Howl would appeal to him. and William Burroughs. Like James, Beat poetry in general, though I feel he wouldn't be as into Kerouac as James.

A lot of this kind of stuff doesn't appeal to me as much (Kerouac is my fav Beat unfortunately) but I think generally Sirius would like fairly gritty realistic dark stuff. So the obligatory Bukowski is going here. Also perhaps Ted Hughes. Maybe stuff with a political/social commentary.

Peter

honestly I can't see Peter reading a lot lol but if he did, it'd be fairly easy and exciting things, maybe fantasy/scifi like James. I can see him liking The Hobbit. Also maybe crime novels or thrillers? Like kind of bad, easy to read ones haha.

Also comic books, i know nothing about that personally though. Super heroes?? lol idk

No poetry lmao, he wouldn't get it. Maybe he'd like humourous stuff. Limericks lol. An epicure dining at crewe / found a traitorous rat in his stew, etc

Remus

I agree about Kafka!

I just want to give someone this because it's one of my favourite novels ever, so I'm giving Remus Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier. (I think it's been translated as The Lost Estate in English but I prefer the original title.)

Hmm I think he might be a Hemingway?? Also Raymond Carver (who is one of my fav authors) anyway I think the minimalist, understated style of both would appeal to him.

I also think he'd like a good coming-of-age story when younger so, the aforementioned Meaulnes (honestly i rly just love that book) but also Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and, like James, Catcher in the Rye.

And then when older it would be more minimalist stuff. I just think he'd be a Hemingway! Also maybe Steinbeck and Capote. I really dont know why I'm always giving Remus such American taste in things. In my mind he has great taste though haha.

For poetry I'm giving him Dylan Thomas (see? Welsh) and T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden.

Lily

absolutely Sylvia Plath! I had her reading The Bell Jar in my fic.

but also other poets, particularly female poets. Anne Sexton, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, Edna St Vincent Millay.

Yeats too, she'd absolutely love Yeats. Like I said my fav is An Irish Airman... but Lily would LOVE and be so enraptured by The Stolen Child (as am I)

as for fiction, she'd love The Mill on the Floss (as well as other things by George Eliot,) the Brontë sisters. God would she love Wuthering Heights (both the book and the Kate Bush song.) I think she'd like Little Women too and really identify with Jo (as do we all,) and also Virginia Woolf. I'll give her Oscar Wilde and Poe too.

Also I want someone to be a Wodehouse fan and that's going to be Lily.

as a kid I think her favourite books would have been The Secret Garden and Watership Down. And Alice in Wonderland. She probably grew up with Beatrix Potter and Edward Lear too. This is essentially just my own taste/what I grew up with btw lol

Snape

I think he'd like Kafka too. also, like Sirius, Camus's The Stranger and Sartre's Nausea lol. he'd be pretentious and dark, basically.

I also think he'd read the most nonfiction, specifically philosophy, specifically nihilism lol so the aforementioned Camus and Sartre, Kierkegaard, and NIETZSCHE. god.

He might like horror. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde. I'm not really a horror fan myself but I think Snape would be.

fun fact but hpwiki lists 'poetry' as one of Snape's skills and I believe that. Anyway, similarly he'd enjoy moody man poetry. But also be more romantic and more classical than Sirius.

I'm giving him Richard Lovelace, I think he'd relate to the romantic aspect of To Althea, From Prison (which is so beautiful) but also the tragedy haha.

As you might be able to tell this is heavily based on what I like and therefore what I could think of off the top of my head. I feel like if you combine Lily's taste with Remus's and then add a bit of the darker Sev side of things, that's just what I like lmao.

So I'm sure there's obvious stuff I'm missing for someone, pls feel free to suggest things!

Edit wait, since I mentioned Dylan Thomas I wanted to share this Welsh translation of his famous poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, sung by Welsh group Brigyn! It's a bit folksy haha but such a beautiful version:

[kidstemplatte]

the greatest

summary: cardinal copia becomes a father.

warnings: brief mention of suicide || wc: 8.3k

notes: reader is terzo's wife. i recommend checking out my other works to learn more about the (now expanding) family! message at the end as per usual, enjoy <3

“You’d be a good Papa.”

His niece’s kind words still echoed in his mind, even after nearly five years.

The Cardinal had wanted to become a father for quite some time now but wasn’t sure if he was fit for the job. He was a bit of a child, which could be considered a pro or a con; the upside being he was fun and pure-hearted, the downside that he could be a tad chaotic. 

When Copia was summoned to Sister Imperator’s office, he assumed it was because he had forgotten to turn off the stove again or left the sink running, habits from his youth he was yet to abandon even as a middle-aged man. Bracing himself for another lecture, the Cardinal took a deep breath in and out before knocking three times on the sturdy oak door.

“Come in.” A hoarse voice rang from within the room.

Copia gently pushed the door open and entered the lavish office. Sister Imperator’s office couldn’t differ anymore from the Cardinal’s, sporting a classy yet minimalistic aesthetic decked in shades of brown and black. Meanwhile, Copia’s office had “Copia” written all over it in big cartoonish block letters, thanks to the dozens of figurines and comic books lining the shelves, as well as other dorky memorabilia. Sister Imperator sat behind her meticulously organized desk, her clasped hands resting on the polished wood.

“Hello, Sister.” Copia greeted the woman formally, bowing his head as he took a seat in the plush chair across from hers.

“Cardinal.” She returned the greeting with a brief nod, before instantly diving into her reason for his summoning. “Do you recall, a few years back, when a Sister of the Austrian chapter took her own life?” she inquired.

Of course he did, how could he not? It was a tragic day, each chapter holding its own memorial ceremony for the young woman.

“Oh. Sì, I do.” Copia answered, saddened at the remembrance of the event. 

“Well, she had a son additionally, who had an absent father.” 

Been there. 

“They have done their best to take care of the boy since he was just a newborn- he’s resided in the church his whole life- but as he��s gotten older, they’ve decided it’s simply not fit for him to grow up without a permanent system of support.” She explained.

Copia suddenly became much more alert, his eyes widening and posture straightening. “You mean… a family?” 

“C, if you’re interested…”

Sister Imperator noticed a longing in her son’s eyes that she had not seen in a long time- not since he was but a child brimming with curiosity, a subtle glow that surfaced only when he wanted something deeply, most of the time, an answer- but this time- it was more than curiosity, it was yearning. “Now would be the time.”

“Yes.” The Cardinal blurted out. “Yes.”

“The adoption process is not easy- let alone raising a child. This is a massive responsibility. Are you sure you can handle this on top of a Cardinal’s duties?” She cautioned him.

“Yes, Mother.” He reiterated.

She froze.

“I want this more than anything.” He pleaded.

“I will notify them of your consideration.” She nodded.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. Grazie. Grazie.” The Cardinal repeated like a mantra, placing his hands together as he bowed his head in gratitude. 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Gently shutting the door to your son’s room, you walked down the hall and into the living space, pleasantly surprised to see your brother-in-law sitting in a lounge chair across from the couch. “Hi, Copia! What a nice surprise.” You greeted him with a smile. “Sorry, I just put Vinnie to bed. Am I allowed to join, or is this a brother talk?” 

“Please, join us.” Copia gestured. “Is Violetta here?” he asked. 

“Oh, she’s in her room. She’s not feeling very well tonight.”

“Oh, I am sorry to hear that, let her know I said hello.” Copia responded.

“Will do. So, what is going on?” Terzo asked, reaching to the coffee table in front of him and pouring his brother a glass of wine.

Copia took a deep breath in and began. “Sister Imperator called me into her office today and gave me some news.”

“News that..?”

You elbowed Terzo in response to his impatience. “Let the man speak!”

“Eh, do you remember when a woman of the Austrian chapter, um… She took her own life?”

“Johanna?” You asked.

“You knew her?”

“Not too personally, but yes. I met her years back when I studied briefly in Innsbruck. She was a lovely woman.” You recalled, sadness beginning to tug at your heart. “Sorry, continue.” You dismissed yourself, knowing if you continued, there would surely be a few tears. 

“Oh, no, do not apologize. Please, continue, if you are comfortable.”

“Okay.” you sniffled, laughing nervously. “There’s not much else, it’s just- it was sad. My bad, go on.”

Your husband placed a loving hand over yours, a subtle way he reminded you that you were safe with him.

Copia nodded. “Well, she had a son, who has lived in the church his whole life. But, um, they are considering finding him a more traditional… family.” He explained.

“Here?” Terzo inquired.

“Si, ah… with me.”

“You are adopting him?” 

“If everything goes according to plan, yes.” He replied slightly hesitantly.

“You’re gonna be a dad, Copia!” You nearly cried, your face lighting up with joy.

He laughed, a smile grazing his face at the idea. “Ah, well, we don’t know for sure yet. The process is a bit difficult. I fear it won’t work out.”

“Copia, you can’t mourn the loss of something that’s just beginning!” You encouraged him.

“Do you think Sister Imperator would ever propose such a thing to someone she didn’t trust could do it?” pointed out Terzo.

“That is a good point,” Copia replied. “I just… even if it works out… what if I am not… good?” He rambled anxiously.

“Not good? Our kids can’t get enough of you.” Terzo reassured his brother.

The Cardinal smiled at the thought of his niece and nephew.

“So what do you know about him?” You asked eagerly.

“Well, ah, that’s actually all I know… And that he’s four years old.”

“Oh my gosh! He’s the same age as Vinnie! It was meant to be!” You gushed, excitedly waving your hands. “Copia. I think it’s gonna happen. I really, really do.”

“Thank you, Y/N.” He expressed his gratitude with a heartfelt smile.

“Mommy?” You heard a voice squeak in the distance.

Turning around in your spot on the couch, a small figure stood down the hallway.

“Hi, Vinnie. What’s wrong?” You asked, a gentle tone adorning your voice. “Excuse me, I’ll be back.” You told your brother-in-law and husband as you rose to your son’s aid.

“Copia.” Terzo addressed his brother, his voice suddenly earnest.

“Yes?”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

Pondering the question and recalling no particular incident, he shrugged.

“Exactly. You can do this,” stated Terzo, his words few yet meaningful, clearly touching the heart of his beloved half-brother.

“Thank you, Terzo.”

Terzo smiled, his eyes conveying a depth of sincerity. “I mean it, fratello.”

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The Cardinal closed the door to his small abode and let out a hefty sigh. His expression softened a little as he caught sight of the large cage sitting on a table against the wall, inside containing two furry friends. Inside the enclosure stood a gray rat, once brown, perched on his hind feet and clutching onto the metal bars, eagerly waiting for his Papa’s return. 

“Ciao, Bean.” Copia cooed, opening the drawer below his cage and opening their bag of food. “I’m guessing your brother is…” Copia scanned his eyes around the cage, his suspicions confirmed once he noticed Pesto’s nose peeking out from a small wooden hideout. “Ah, did I wake you up, my Bestie Pestie? I apologize. Buon appetito, little ones.” He said, opening their cage and pouring their food as the little rodents scurried to their bowls.

That night, the Cardinal felt inclined to do something he hadn’t done in a long time. 

Overwhelmed with an immense sense of desperation, Copia prayed on his own in the solitude of his room. He knelt beside his bed, knees on the hardwood floor as he placed his hands together and shut his eyes tight, a soft sigh escaping his lips before he began his prayer.

“Tua empietà, so che è passato un po' di tempo. perdonami, ti prego, ma devo chiederti una cosa. per favore, satana, concedimi il dono della paternità, per favore. Farò qualsiasi cosa, viaggerò all'inferno e ritorno, per trasformare questo sogno in realtà. Prego che il ragazzo stia bene e al sicuro e trovi la sua nuova casa tra le mura del clero.”

And just as Copia was lying in bed, about to doze off, he opened his heavy eyes; and through the darkness of the room caught sight of a poster featuring a cat, reading “Hang in there, baby!”, a silly yet needed reminder for Copia to persevere.

He needed this. More than he had ever needed anything in his entire life. 

Little did he know, the boy needed him just as much.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Throughout the next few months, the adoption process was proven to be just as lengthy and overwhelming as it was described as, the heightened levels of anxiety meaning Copia frequently had trouble sleeping, finding himself spending late nights in the Clergy’s grand library. Basking in the comfort of a large plush chair a few feet from the crackling fireplace, Copia was nose-deep in a book entitled “Raising Your Children With Satan.” 

“Can’t sleep?” A voice said just a few feet from where the Cardinal sat in the plush armchair. Looking up, Copia was faced with his eldest brother, Primo.

“Primo! What are you-”

“I had a feeling you might be here.” The man reckoned. “I understand these are stressful times, but you need to get some rest, for Satan’s sake! You look exhausted!”

“Ay, but that’s why I can’t sleep! I just toss and turn in bed for hours and hours until I give up.” He complained, punctuating his sentence with a sigh.

“You know I have all sorts of remedies for that. Why did you not ask me?”

“I… I don’t know. I guess I felt like I was already asking too much of people.” The Cardinal admitted, sighing and setting his book down on the table beside him.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think you’ve asked a single thing of me throughout this whole process.”

Copia opened his mouth to respond, but no retaliations were heard as he realized that Primo was, in fact, correct. As usual. “I suppose… that is true.”

“Indeed it is. But I want to let you know you can always ask anything of me, Copia. I am not a father, but you could say I’ve done my fair share of parenting.” He chuckled. “And beyond that, I’m your brother, I’m here for you no matter what the issue is. Even if I cannot relate fully.” He comforted Copia, reaching across and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you. I’m just… very scared.” The Cardinal admitted.

“Why is that?” questioned Primo.

“I have no idea what I’m doing. Parenting. I just… I have- no idea.”

Parenting?

Just outside the walls of the library, Violetta, unable to fall asleep, stood with her ear pressed against the door, her mouth agape as she began to piece together the fragments of the conversation. Her uncle, Copia, had been notably distant lately, and now, standing on the precipice of this revelation, she couldn't help but wonder if this- parenting- was the reason. Primo's laughter, warm and familiar, seeped through the walls, filling the air with a sense of camaraderie. 

"Nobody does, fratello. Do you know how scared Terzo was? He was at my door practically every other night, rambling to me because he was too concerned he would further stress (Y/N) with all his worries."

Violetta's heart fluttered with a mix of emotions. Thrilled by the news that her beloved uncle was going to be a father, she couldn't shake the twinge of hurt that accompanied the realization that she hadn't been enlightened of this information. Her young mind grappled with conflicting sentiments—elation for the impending addition to the family, yet a pang of longing for the connection she wished she had shared with Copia. As the weight of the revelation settled, tears began to well up in her eyes, her heart aching while she turned around and silently made her way back to her room.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

6 months had passed since Sister Imperator gave her son the news: There was a little boy in Innsbruck, Austria, who needed a permanent system of support. Or, in normal people terms, a family. And there Copia sat in the very same chair he did on that first day, anxiously leaning forward while Sister Imperator gave him an even better piece of news: he had found one.

“It’s official.” 

It was like time froze; the months of meetings and paperwork, and beyond that, years of longing, had all led up to this pivotal moment.

“I- we- it’s been finalized?” Copia exclaimed. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.” 

Sister Imperator suddenly felt a surge in her heart, upon witnessing her son’s ecstatic reaction.

“Congratulations, Copia. You’re a father.”

Thank Satan Copia always kept a handkerchief in his pocket. 

“…C?”

“I know I was not a perfect mother. And, I…” She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “I want to do better this time around as a grandmother. And a mother. You are my family, and I’ve been quiet about that. It is the biggest regret I’ve ever had. But you, Copia, are not a secret. You are my son.” She confessed, reaching across the desk to place her hand over Copia’s. “And I am proud of you.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“I love you, Copia.”

“I love you too.”

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Copia spent the next few weeks frantically preparing for the arrival of the new family member. His Cardinal’s suite he had resided in for years was now empty, as he was moving into a larger suite with an extra bedroom and bathroom. The man was beyond stressed- He didn’t know how to properly decorate a room for a child, let alone assemble the furniture. Copia was quite satisfied with the simple layout of his old room, with strikingly lavish decor consisting of a pull-out bed, lava lamp, and a cat poster that read, “Hang in there, Baby!” Yeah, he was definitely taking that. Unsure at first who to ask for help, the Cardinal realized the person best suited for the job was his dear sister-in-law.

“This is such a nice space!” You gawked, following him into the room that would soon belong to the young boy. “And it has such a nice view!” Walking to the window, you were astonished to see the room was just in view of the Clergy’s beautiful garden and somber forest behind it. “Okay, so I think since it’s a twin bed, it should go against this wall,” you suggested. "There’s gonna still be some space after assembling this stuff,” you gestured to the boxes lying against the wall, “but maybe we should leave some space so he can pick what he wants.”

“Okie dokie. Sounds good. Shall we get to work?” Copia prompted.

Your attempt to build the bed was short-lived, you and your brother-in-law soon cackling loudly at your evident lack of skills.

“Damn you, IKEA,” Copia chuckled, squinting at the fine print on the instruction manual.

“What’s going on in here?” You heard a familiar voice echo through the bare room, your husband walking inside and noticing you two were having some trouble with the task at hand.

“We’re just, ah... struggling a bit with this furniture.” Copia laughed, gesturing to the various pieces in front of him.

“I know just the ghoul who can assist,” Terzo replied.

“Oh, it’s fine, we can figure it out-”

“Nonsense! Omega!” Terzo clapped his hands, to which the ghoul quite literally appeared out of thin air. “Hello, Omega!” chimed Terzo, who loved nothing more than to torment the poor man.

“Hello, Papa. Copia. Y/N.” Omega greeted you.

“Would you be a dear and assemble this furniture for my dear brother?”

“It- it has instruc-“

“Yes, and so do you, silly ghoul!” Terzo said, reaching to pat the tall man on the back and holding his hand out towards the unassembled bedframe.

Omega sighed and chuckled, “Yes, Papa.”

“Thank you, Omega.” 

Suddenly, Terzo crept behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, your eyes widening in fear of his next words, though your face heated up at his contact. Your husband, though you loved him dearly, often had little-to-no filter regarding intimate matters, and his sudden affection warned you he was about to let something slip. “It feels like just yesterday we were making Omega set up the nursery…” He reminisced.

“Terzo, ‘we’ is you. I didn’t make him do anything.” You laughed.

“You know, maybe we’ll do the next one ourselves.” he suggested wickedly, completely ignoring the innocent bystanders in the room.

“The next one? No, sir.” You swatted his wandering hand.

“I’m going to put this drill through my ears.” You heard Omega mumble in the corner.

“So, Copia! Three weeks! That’s so soon!” You exclaimed. "We're gonna tell the kids tomorrow." You announced, grinning at the thought of their reactions.

"Oh boy. I wonder how they will react."

"They will be beyond thrilled." Terzo reassured Copia.

Through the window, the sky was fading into a hazy orange. “Papa, don’t you have a meeting soon?” Omega asked his boss, who was known for being just a tad forgetful.

“I appreciate your help, dear Omega, but the meeting is on Thursday.” He said assuredly, a satisfied smile on his face.

“Today is Thursday.”

“What- it is?” Terzo exclaimed, checking his watch, his eyes nearly popping out of his skull as he realized he had a mere minute to make it to his office. “Shit!” Terzo began dashing out of the room, then spun around on his heels as he realized he had forgotten something very important. Leaning towards you, your husband gave you your ritual-esque goodbye kiss, pecking you on the cheek before turning around once again and bolting off.

“If he can do it, so can you.” You laughed with your brother-in-law, beginning to assist Omega with his newly-assigned task.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Violetta couldn’t sleep. She figured there might be someone else who couldn’t either, someone she hadn’t spoken to in a while. Carefully tiptoeing through the dark hall and down the stairs, she made her way to the library with deliberate caution. Entering the library, she caught sight of Copia sitting in a cozy armchair, nose deep in a book, completely oblivious of her presence, as he had seemingly been for the past few months. His eyes darted up as he caught sight of his 10-year-old niece in her pajamas, standing by the entrance with her arms crossed. 

“Violetta!” He exclaimed, frantically shutting the book and setting it aside. “What are you doing up so late?” 

“I dunno. Sometimes I walk around at night when I can’t sleep. But, uh, I also thought you might be here.” His niece answered anxiously.

“Eh- Why do you think that?”

She shrugged, an awkward silence plaguing the room before Violetta broke the ice. “Is that a parenting book?” She asked, pointing to the book Copia had tossed aside.

“Uh…”  Clearly, it was a parenting book. It had the word “PARENTING” engraved on the spine in shiny gold lettering- there was no way for him to play it off. “Yes.” 

“Why are you reading a parenting book?” Before her uncle could respond, she immediately regretted asking, feeling uneasy about the question. It wasn't a lie, per se, but it felt dishonest considering she was well aware of the reason. “Actually… I’m sorry. I know why.” She confessed, looking at the ground, a sense of guilt flooding her heart.

Copia was dumbfounded. How did she find out? It’s not that he was upset she knew, he just didn’t understand how that came to be- he was positive Terzo didn’t tell her, nor the other brothers. Had he let something slip?

“How did you find out?” Copia asked.

“I… I heard a conversation you and Primo had in here. I’m sorry I listened. I didn’t tell anyone. I promise.” she confessed, her voice becoming shaky as her eyes remained glued to the ground. 

“Oh, Violetta, it’s okay.”

“…Okay.” She said, still feeling guilty.

“I'm sorry Violetta, you do not have to cry, it’s okay. I promise, it is. I didn’t want to keep anything secret from you, I was just scared that if things did not go as planned, it would disappoint you.” He reassured her, his voice gentle and caring.

“I didn’t disappoint you, right?” Violetta sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes as she looked him in the eyes once again.

“No, no, no- I would have done the same thing. In fact, I’m very impressed and honored that you kept it a secret. That is not easy.” He lovingly comforted her.

Violetta smiled. “Thanks.”

“I'm sorry I have not spent much time with you recently... I have been so busy. But he is almost here, after all this time.”

“He?”

“Ay, I really can’t keep my mouth shut, can I?” he laughed. “Well, I might as well tell you more since I’ve already begun…” he figured, patting the arm of the seat next to him.

Violetta smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes as she took a seat beside him. “I missed you.” 

“I missed you too, my dear Violetta.” 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Though Violetta unconventionally discovered her uncle’s secret, her brother’s reaction was a drastically different experience. You and Terzo called your son into the living room, to which he bolted in and looked up at you with his sparkling mismatched eyes. 

“Vinnie, do you want to hear something very exciting?” Terzo cheerfully asked his son, picking him up and placing him into his lap as he bounced his leg up and down, often one of the few ways to keep him from moving around on his own.

“Yes! Please! Please!” Vinnie begged, giggling.

“You have a cousin that’s going to be here very soon!” Terzo informed him.

“What?!” Vinnie gawked.

“Yes! Your Uncle Copi is going to adopt a boy who’s exactly your age!” You exclaimed, sitting beside them on the couch.

“Yay!!! What’s adopt?” Vinnie tilted his head.

“You know Violetta’s good friend Carmen?” You asked him.

“Yeah!” 

“Do you remember her two mommies?” 

“Yeah!”

“They adopted Carmen. She was born somewhere else but then she became their baby!” You continued.

“Oh, okay,” Vinnie responded. 

“And Uncle Copi is adopting a son from Austria!” You explained enthusiastically.

“With the koalas?”

Terzo chuckled. “You’re very close, Vinnie. That’s Australia.” He said, ruffling his son's hair.

“Oh, I get it. He’s in…”

“Austria.” You assisted him.

“He’s in Austria now and he’s gonna be here! And now Uncle Copia is going to be his Papa.” Vinnie processed.

“Sì!”

“Okay. Yay! When do I get to meet my new cousin?” Your son asked eagerly.

“Two weeks.” You replied.

“Two whole weeks?” Vinnie repeated as you had just informed him he would have to wait a millennium. “I thought you said soon!”

“I know, we’re all very excited.” Terzo added, amused by his son’s enthusiasm.

“I’m so excited! Yay, cousin!” The little boy started kicking his feet, a telltale sign that he needed to let some energy out. Vinnie was a little fireball, constantly moving. While Violetta grew up satisfied with playing in the comfort of her room, her brother was like a windup toy, exhibiting bursts of energy before inevitably crashing and needing to rest. “Can I go outside?” He asked, pointing at the door.

You and Terzo were familiar with Vinnie’s harmless need to release his energy and sought to embrace it rather than suppress it. Terzo chuckled, gently placing his son on the ground, walking over to the door and opening it. Vinnie wasted no time, darting through the doorway at lightning speed while you and Terzo laughed.

“He’s so adorable.” You observed your son, zooming around in circles around the grass like a little Tasmanian devil.

“I hope he never grows out of his spark.” Terzo chuckled.

“He won’t. Not as long as you’re his Papa.”

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Soon, the long-awaited day arrived. Copia and Sister Imperator stood in anticipation by the doors of the entrance. Though he was incredibly fearful, he had been waiting for this day his entire life, he put on a brave face. He couldn’t let his nerves show. Not now. Who was he to be afraid when the poor boy was certainly terrified and confused beyond measure? It was Copia’s responsibility to ensure the boy felt safe and welcome in the Clergy; he couldn’t do that if he himself was displaying unease. The solemn moment was interrupted by a knock on the door, making Copia jolt in shock. His mother, noticing his panic, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a soft yet reassuring smile.

“In,” she gently instructed, the two breathing in, a ritual they often did when Copia was younger and feeling anxious, “And out.”

Copia exhaled his worries, letting them disappear into the air, smiling at his mother before opening the door and being faced with a social worker and a little boy. He had blonde hair, dusty freckles, and a pair of glimmering blue eyes, wearing a pair of blue headphones of sorts around his neck. His eyes spastically darted around, to the ground, to the door, to the sky, to the walls of the church, and for a brief moment, Copia. The poor boy was visibly petrified, having been through a lot of travel and confusion that was surely enough to rattle his young mind, gripping the straps of his backpack tightly.

“Hello, Augustus.” Copia greeted the boy. We’re very happy to have you here.”

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The walk to the suite was silent, minus the sound of echoing footsteps in the grand hallway. “How are you, Augustus?” He broke the silence. 

The little boy held out a thumbs up. Copia decided to continue speaking, not necessarily looking for a response, but to lighten the air.

“I know you are from Austria. I myself have never been, but I want to go. Maybe one day you can take me. But first you'll have to get your pilot's license. That was a dream I once had: to be a pilot. But, alas, I am afraid of heights. And look! We are here!” he announced, gesturing to the door of their suite.

After a small tour of the new space, Copia finally led Augustus to his bedroom. “I apologize, it’s a little boring right now, but we will fix it up in no time. However you like.” He said, opening the door for Augustus. The room was fairly empty minus the essentials: a bed, dresser, nightstand, rug. Despite the room’s humble appearance, Augustus’s eyes lit up enlivened at the idea of having his own space. “You can either stay here, or we can look around more. Up to you.”

Augustus paused to think for a moment, then pointed to the door.

“Okie dokie, we can explore. Do you want to see the library?” Copia inquired.

His eyes lit up.

“Library?”

Yes! A word! Thank you, Satan! A choir of angels sang in Copia’s head as he celebrated this small yet mighty victory.

“Yes, we have a rather nice library! Would you like to go?” He questioned.

“Yes!” Augustus chirped.

Copia and Augustus exited the bedroom, walking through the living space and to the front door.

“Are you ready to go?” Copia asked.

Augustus seemed conflicted, his gaze drifting off to somewhere else in the room. “Is… is something-“ Copia, lost on what to do, awkwardly looked aside, until a bright blue object caught his eye- something he must have set aside during their tour. “Eh… Oh. You want your headphones?” He asked.

Augustus nodded, a small smile forming on his face. Copia walked to the counter and picked up the headphones, approaching Augustus once again. Crouching down to be at eye level with the little boy, he extended the headphones toward him. “Here you go, good sir!”

Augustus smiled appreciatively and took them into his hands.

“Where we are about to go is very quiet. But, of course, you can still wear them if you’d like.” the Cardinal consoled gently.

“Okay. Just in case.” Augustus replied, placing them around his neck.

“Just in case.” Copia reiterated. “Ready?”

“Okie dokie.” Augustus said, holding out a thumbs up.

Copia and Augustus walked through the halls of the abbey as the boy eyed his surroundings curiously, counting each brick on the wall as they passed through.

"This is our library," Copia declared as they entered the large doors, a sense of pride evident in his voice. Though the library was nearly ancient, he had played a large part in its organization. Augustus’s eyes twinkled with wonder as he stared in awe at the utopia surrounding him, lined wall-to-wall with books of all kinds.

“Very cool, right?”

Augusted smiled wide and nodded, looking up to meet eyes with Copia, which made his heart warm.

“Do you have a favorite book?” Copia asked Augustus.

“The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” he answered, nearly instantly.

Copia’s jaw dropped. One, because clearly this kid was a genius, two, because that was a book he held dear to his heart, and three, because that was the longest phrase he had uttered the whole day.

“Wow, that’s a big kid book. You must be a very smart boy. I happen to love that book, though I certainly wasn’t reading it at your age. Have you read the others?” he asked.

He tilted his head, not fully understanding Copia’s question.

“The story continues in other books.” He explained. 

“Really?” He asked, his eyes widening in excitement.

“Yes, it’s a series. And whaddya know…” Copia trailed his finger across the vast collection of books as he strolled along the shelves, until-

“They’re all right here!” exclaimed Copia, who had led them both to the fiction section of the library. 

Augustus’s head nearly exploded at this newly found information, a large smile spreading across his face.

“And there are movies.” Copia informed him.

The boy’s jaw dropped. “Movies?”

Oh, this was gonna be great.

In the middle of their lighthearted conversation appeared Secondo, in the mood for some refined literature. His facial expression molded into a soft smile as he observed Copia and the young boy discussing the classic novel.

Copia caught sight of his older brother in the corner of his eye. "Oh! Hello there!" He greeted his brother as he made his way towards them. "Augustus, this is your Uncle Secondo."

"Hello to you, Augustus. I'm Secondo. It is very nice to meet you.” Secondo said warmly, reaching out his much larger hand and shaking the boy's. “Nice, strong handshake. Good for you.” Secondo praised the boy with a smile. “And what is that book you are holding?”

Augustus, feeling shy, held up the book and pointed at the title engraved on the spine. 

“Wow, that’s a grown up book! It looks like we have a distinguished gentleman on our hands. Have you met your other zios yet?”

“Not quite yet. But I was planning on taking him to meet his cousins after he sees the garden.” Copia answered for Augustus, still a tad nervous.

“How fun! Well, I won’t bother you two any longer. Very nice to meet you, Augustus. I look forward to seeing you again soon.” He said with a warm smile, waving and exiting the room.

“I like him.” Augustus commented.

“Secondo is great. Looks like this was a successful trip!” Copia exclaimed. 

“Are we going to the garden?” Augustus asked, placing the book in his backpack.

“Only if you want to.” Copia replied.

Augustus nodded.

“Okie dokie, off we go!”

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Copia and Augustus paced outside in the grass, Augustus’s smile growing wider and wider as the two approached the Clergy's lavish garden.

“Do you like the outdoors?” Copia asked Augustus.

“Yes.” Augustus answered. “This is so cool!” He exclaimed, in awe of the wonderland in front of him, longing to get lost in its winding path. 

Among the vibrant colors of the flowers, an older man quietly tended to the garden, crouching in front of a bed of hydrangeas, an aura of wisdom and insight radiating from him. Hearing footsteps nearing on the gravel, he turned his head towards Copia and Augustus, giving them a soft wave. 

“Why hello, there. Very nice to meet you, you must be Augustus.” He spoke softly but warmly.

The boy nodded sheepishly, staring at the flowers in Primo’s hands.

“Augustus. That’s a good name. Better than good. Do you know what it means?”

Augustus looked up to meet Primo’s gaze, and shook his head.

“Great.” Primo revealed.

“Oh. Really?” Augustus asked.

“Indeed.” He nodded. “Do you have a favorite flower?” Primo stood up, Copia and Augustus beginning to follow him along the edge of the the flowing stream.

Augustus looked around the garden for a moment, contemplating which of the many flowers he preferred. “I like the sunflowers.” answered Augustus, pointing to the yellow flowers just a few feet away.

“So do I. They are a classic choice.” Primo agreed. “Sometimes I find myself in here not just to expand the garden, but to find peace in its stillness. It is very quiet out here, but there are many noises to be noticed. The sounds of the stream, birds chirping, sometimes pesky animals that want a snack.” He conversed.

Augustus gasped, his love of animals evident in his jovial reaction. “What kind of animals?” 

“Squirrels most often, but rabbits as well. You know who also likes animals?” Primo asked.

“Who?”

Primo pointed at Copia, who smiled fondly.

“I do, that is true.”

“Maybe one day you two will have a little pet.” Primo winked as Augustus looked up at Copia, his hands fidgeting with excitement.

The three continued their wholesome exchange as Primo taught Augustus all about the flowers and plants, curiosity brimming in his eyes. Copia observed Augustus’s interactions with his uncle, admiring the boy’s gentle and inquisitive nature that ignited a sense of youthfulness in his heart.

“Lovely to meet you, Augustus. You are what some would call an old soul. Maybe even wiser than me, even at my age.” Primo chuckled.

“Nice to meet you.” Augustus responded, finding comfort in Primo’s serenity and knowledge.

“Ay, the sun is already setting…” Primo remarked, the garden’s vibrant colors beginning to dull down as the sun prepared itself to rest.

“Ready to go inside and, if you’re ready, meet your cousins?” Copia asked Augustus, to which he nodded, holding out a thumbs up.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

As the Cardinal raised his hand to knock at the door of the suite you and Terzo shared, Augustus suddenly felt a surge of uncertainty, and without thinking, grabbed Copia’s hand.

Copia, shocked by the sudden contact, looked down at Augustus with concern in his eyes. 

“You okay?” He checked in on the boy.

Augustus nodded. “Nervous.”

“We don’t have to go inside if you don’t want to.”

“I do.” Augustus decided.

“Okay. We can take a deep breath and go inside. Okie dokie?” He comforted Augustus.

“Okie dokie.” Augustus repeated.

“In,”

The two of them inhaled in unison.

“And out.”

Phew.

“Ready?” Copia asked Augustus.

“Mhm.”

Copia stood up and knocked three times on the door of the large Papal suite, which nearly instantly swung open. In front of them stood a man with jet black hair in a black suit, face covered in white and black paint.  

Augustus tapped Copia on the shoulder, waving his hand for him to lean in. He abided, leaning down to hear whatever it was he had to say. Augustus cupped his hand over his mouth and stage whispered, “Is that Dracula?” 

Copia nearly cackled.

“No, that’s your Uncle Terzo.” The Cardinal chuckled.

“Oh. Okay.”

“Dracula?!” Terzo exclaimed. “You flatter me! I’m Terzo, it’s very nice to meet you.” Terzo greeted, holding out his gloved hand for the boy to shake.

“Hi. I’m Augustus.” the boy said, taking his hand and shaking it.

“Augustus! So nice to have you in our family. There are a few other people here who are excited to meet you.”

“Feeling up to it?” Copia asked. 

Augustus nodded. 

“Okie dokie. Your Aunt (Y/N) and cousin Vinnie are here as well. Your cousin Violetta will be back from school soon.” Copia told Augustus.

Just around the corner, you were eagerly listening; after hearing of Augustus’s agreement, you walked down the hall to your son’s room, where you found him pacing in circles.

“Is he here yet?” He asked before you even got the chance to inform him he had arrived.

“He’s here! Come say hi! But remember, he’s nervous, so be very sweet.” You reminded him.

“Okay!” Vinnie agreed as you took his hand and walked him to the living room. As you entered the room and caught sight of your nephew the for the first time, your heart nearly melted. He was utterly adorable, golden hair, rosy cheeks, and freckles dappling his face; he looked like a little cherub. You turned to look down at your son and were elated to see his face lit up.

You gently crouched to the ground to meet your nephew at eye-level, noticing his eyes darting away from your gaze.

“Hi, Augustus. I’m (Y/N). It’s so nice to meet you!” You said, softening your voice. “This is Vinnie, your cousin, who is so excited to meet you.” 

“If you couldn’t tell.” Terzo joked, gesturing to his son, filled to the brim with energy.

“Hi! I’m Vinnie!” The boy excitedly introduced himself.

“Alright, Augustus. I’ll be back very soon.” Copia said to Augustus. “Have fun, and if you need anything, just let your Uncle Terzo or Aunt (Y/N) know. And if you need me, you can also let them know, okie dokie?”

Augustus nodded. “Okie dokie.”

“Do you want to play?” Vinnie asked, to which Augustus nodded once again.

“Okay, let’s go!” Vinnie announced, leaving no room for a verbal response as he grabbed Augustus’s hand, fingers intertwining, and eagerly took off to his room.

Though Copia kept a smile on his face, it was evident he was overwhelmed, understandably.

“You’re doing great.” You consoled Copia, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you, (Y/N). I greatly appreciate your help.” He expressed his gratitude.

“Of course, you don’t have to thank me.”

“He likes you, Copia,” Terzo observed.

“I hope so.”

“No, seriously, he likes you. It’s his first day here and he’s already holding your hand and clinging to your side. It’s precious.” You added in agreement.

“Sì, Copia, you have nothing to worry about,” Terzo reassured him.

“Thank you. And, uh, Terzo, can I borrow one of your ghouls? I have a little last-minute project for his room I’d love to get done.”

Meanwhile, just down the hall, Vinnie had dragged Augustus to his bedroom, animatedly explaining its contents, from his favorite toys scattered across the floor to the pictures on the wall.

“This is my room.” He announced. “And this is my bed and this is my rug. And this is my bookshelf and these are my books that my Mama and Papa read to me. Sometimes my sister. And these are my toys.”

Augustus listened patiently as Vinnie kept talking, admiring the contents of his room.

“Do you like it?” Vinnie asked once he was finished with his grand tour.

“I love it.”

“Yay, thanks! I like your headphones.” Vinnie complimented him. “Sometimes my Papa wears them when he listens to death music. Once he let me hear. Don’t tell my mom. Cause there’s bad words.”

Augustus giggled. “Can I draw?” he asked, unzipping his backpack.

“Sure,” Vinnie said as Augustus pulled out a box of crayons and a stack of paper, laying them on the ground for them to share. 

“Do you like to draw?” Augustus inquired, pulling a beige crayon out of the box

“I’m no good,” Vinnie answered.

“That’s okay.” Augustus pushed the crayons towards his cousin.

Hesitating at first, Vinnie reached into the box and pulled out a green crayon, beginning to scribble on a blank sheet of paper. The boys sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company until Vinnie caught sight of Augustus’s paper and noticed his artistry.

“That’s really good!” Vinnie complimented him.

“Thank you.” Augustus looked up, making eye contact with the raven-haired boy.

“I don’t even know what I have.” Vinnie laughed, looking at the chaos on his paper.

“Grass,” Augustus said, pointing at the drawing, covered in green scribbles. “You can make a house or animals or flowers or trees on top.”

“Oh. Good idea. House.”

"And then you can add people and make it a home," Augustus suggested.

The two went back to drawing in silence until a knock was heard, a girl standing in the doorway.

“Hi, Augustus!” she said. “I’m Violetta. How are you?”

Augustus held out a thumbs up, still concentrating on his paper.

“That’s good. Are you drawing? That’s cool.”

“Duh. He’s really good.” Vinnie told his sister, pointing at his cousin’s paper.

Violetta took a seat beside Augustus on the carpet, peering over at his drawing.

“Wow, that looks really good!” Violetta remarked, impressed by Augustus’ skills; on his paper was a drawing that appeared to be a self-portrait. “There’s a lot of space left. Any other ideas on what to add next?”

Augustus nodded.

“Well, I can’t wait to see!” Violetta said enthusiastically.

The boy smiled and looked up at Violetta, appreciative of her welcoming nature. As his eyes met her gaze, he noticed her black hair similar to her brother’s, as well as a dark red marking adorning the left side of her face. Anxious regarding Augustus’s staring, Violetta suddenly became self-conscious, looking away from the boy and fidgeting with her hands. She mentally prepared herself for a blunt comment, as she had faced many times before, especially from young children.

“I like it,” Augustus said sweetly, pointing to her face.

“Oh.” Violetta said, lost as to how she should respond, not expecting such a kind comment. “Thank you. I like your freckles.”

“Thank you,” Augustus replied with a smile, then went back to perfecting his masterpiece.

Violetta’s heart felt full. The kindness Augustus displayed towards her was unexpected, and caught her off-guard.

“I have homework to do, but it was nice meeting you, Augustus. I’m so excited that you’re my cousin.” She said farewell to Augustus, waving and exiting the room.

“Bye-bye, Violetta.” He said, waving his hand at the girl.

“My sister is cool,” Vinnie said. “She can also draw good.”

“Really?” Augustus said.

“Yeah. She’s awesome. Let’s play spies!” Vinnie declared, a sudden shift in topic, one that didn’t bother Augustus. “But we need something first.”

“What?” Augustus tilted his head.

“We need IDs,” Vinnie stated.

“You’re right! Spy IDs.” Augustus agreed.

“Can you draw them, though?” Vinnie asked, unsure of his abilities.

“Yeah!” 

“Alright, let’s do it!”

Augustus’s time spent with his cousin had clearly lightened his mood. By the time Copia had come to pick up Augustus, he was non-stop giggling with Vinnie, his expression soon resting in an adorable smile, dimples on display.

“Hi, Augustus. It looks like you had fun.” The Cardinal smiled, walking into Vinnie’s room.

“Yeah, I did.” Augustus cheerfully responded, looking Copia in the eyes.

“Ready to head back home and have something to eat?” 

“Yeah!”

After a fulfilling meal of spaghetti and meatballs- which Copia would have to make more often, the plate was empty in what seemed like a millisecond- Augustus was exhausted, but still enthusiastic upon discovering the surprise waiting for him.

“Wow!” Augustus said, standing in his room in front of the newly added bookshelf. “How did that happen so fast?”

“Magic,” Copia responded.

“Woah.” He said in awe, mouth agape as his ocean eyes glimmered.

“And now you can put your first book on it!”

“Oh!” Augustus exclaimed, taking off his backpack, unzipping it, and taking out the book. He walked over to the bookshelf, standing on his tallest tippy-toes and placing it on the shelf.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

“Goodnight, Augustus. If you need anything, I am just down the hallway, okie dokie?” He said, holding out a thumbs up.

Augustus, tucked snugly under the covers, held out a thumbs up in return. “Okie dokie.”

Copia, leaving the door just slightly ajar, made his way back to his room. Staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he sighed deeply, picking apart the man staring back at him with tears in his eyes, who still didn’t seem much like a father. The day went well, he thought, but there was no doubt it was all incredibly overwhelming. Did he overwhelm Augustus? What could he do to help him come out of his shell? 

“Day one of fatherhood and I’m already a wreck,”Copia mentally belittled himself. In the middle of his spiral, he heard a quiet knock on the door. 

Like magic, Copia nearly teleported to the door and sucked back his tears; a superpower that supposedly came with becoming a parent. There Augustus stood in the doorway, tears running down his rosy cheeks.

“Augustus! What’s wrong?” He fretted, crouching in front of him, concern etched on his face.

“I can’t-” Augustus sniffled, Copia’s heart instantly shattering. “I can’t sleep.” the boy softly cried.

“Oh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” Copia consoled him. “Can I give you a hug?”

Augusted answered by holding out his arms, to which Copia immediately wrapped his arms around him.

“It’s very hard. I know. I know.” Copia comforted him, though he wanted to cry just as much. Through the sniffles and hiccups, Copia soon heard a giggle escape Augustus’s mouth. Copia gently pulled away from the hug, as Augustus smiled and pointed to the wall behind Copia. Turning around, he noticed his iconic poster hanging proudly - ‘Hang in there baby!’

“Oh, the poster? It is funny, isn’t it?”

Augustus nodded. “I like the cat.”

“So do I. Do you want it?”

“Really?” He asked, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Sì. We can put it up in your room.”

“Sì is yes?”

“Oh! Sì- Yes. Sì means ‘yes’ in Italian.”

“Okay. Yay!”

“I always seem to catch sight of that silly cat when I need it most…” He remarked. “Speaking of a cat… I know a very good story involving a lion, a witch, and a specific piece of furniture if you’d like to read it together.”

Augustus grinned wide, his joy completely replacing the tears he had shed just moments ago.

Copia followed Augustus into his room, carrying the framed poster, and setting it beside a stack of paper on top of the dresser.

“He will sleep here tonight, but we will put him on the wall tomorrow.” Copia said as Augustus crawled into bed and under the covers. “All snug?”

Augustus nodded.

“Okie dokie. Here we go. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” He began. “Once there were…” Copia began, and soon noticed Augustus holding up four fingers.

“Ah, you are correct! Four children. And their names were…”

“Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy,” he repeated.

“And you remember them in the right order, too! Wow. Very good memory you have!”

“Thank you,” Augustus replied, smiling.

“This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air raids. They were sent to the house of an old Professor who lived in the heart of the country, ten miles from the nearest railway station and two miles from the nearest post office…”

Copia continued reading the story as Augustus found his eyes growing heavy under the soothing cadence of Copia’s voice. 

“This is the land of Narnia, said the Faun, where we are now; all that lies between the lamp post and the-”

Copia peered above the book and caught sight of Augustus, eyes shut and mouth agape, his breathing establishing a steady rhythm . Augustus had made it to sleep before they even made it to Narnia. Copia smiled, closing the book softly, careful not to disturb the now-sleeping Augustus. The Cardinal remained seated on the side of the bed for a moment, basking in heights of graciousness he didn't even know were humanly possible; he felt blessed that this precious little boy, whos life clearly had not been easy, was safe with the Clergy, was safe with him.

Placing the book on top of the nightstand and turning off the lamp, Copia carefully stood up and began to tiptoe out of the room, stopping when he noticed a sheet of paper sitting atop the dresser. He knew drawings were an important and often personal form of self expression, especially for children, but he couldn’t help but be curious as to what Augustus had come up with; he seemed like a creative spirit. Through the darkness of the room, squinting at the paper, Copia was able to make out two figures with writing on top.

Yeah, he was gonna be be a good Papa. Better than good, great. Some may even say the greatest.

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OMG YALL😭😭😭😭

first things first,

i can’t apologize enough for my absence!!! this story became way longer than i thought it would but i hope it was worth it!!! now that this is done i have other WIP stories i can finally continue working on that include augustus!!!

i love dad copia so much y’all omg i can't even, vinnie and augustus are twin flames omg im so excited to show yall more <3

thank you SO MUCH for reading i can’t thank you enough, i love y’all so much!!!! thank you for your love and patience!!! more stuff coming up SOON <3

<3, alice

[moriamori]

Even now I feel the ghosts of muscles and nerves wishing to induce pain, as my upper torso works on healing missing skin from ripped kinetic sports tape used in recovery.

The words "Do what you love while you still have the bodily means to do it" rattles through my bones, I'm not that old by human standards but the sense of a countdown remains regardless. Comics are a deep love of mine. They're also the medium to tell a story very, very slowly.

With an average life span of 80 years, knock off my current 30, that's 50 years left. A completed series could take about ten years, many have taken longer. The manic could commit maybe five stories. Realistically, most manage half or a quarter of one. Maybe complete one. Maybe two. And my arms hurt, my spine pinches. My fingers tingle.

With my current funds, I choose between one physio session for the month, or hope to save up enough for an ergonomics assessment of my awful workdesk-setup in a slanted apartment, with a chair too big and items eternally too wide, too heavy for me. "This time," I say, "This time, this will help me get closer to drawing again".

I had wanted to be a freelance illustrator, when I realized my day job would never financially reflect the amount of work I do or don't put in. I wouldn't be able to increase my funds if I took on more work. My job will only realize they can expect more work out of me for the same pay. Getting hired elsewhere, while a possibility, would likely involve obtaining a new job that is twice as stressful and pays a tiny bit more. I don't even want this career.

I used to do commissions. I used to draw like I breathed. The irony of working in an art school is that the continuous exposure to technique and "how to get better", mainly makes you able to see your own mistakes and your own shortcomings over and over again. It's always about improvement. Find the faults, do better. Do better. Do better.

Don't sing this way, sing that way.

I feel like I've lost my voice. I feel like my voice hasn't much to say, actually. I know people loved it, once. People even demand my return.

"I want to see the next pages." "Where's that comic you said you'd do?" "Made any art recently?"

Positive attention doesn't pay bills, doesn't give me lunch, doesn't offer insurance for my physio therapy bills. It almost did. But I would have to keep performing. Keep producing through the burn. And I want to. I do. That's the awful thing in the end. I also want these pages done.

I want to love to create again. I remember I loved. I loved fearlessly. Made fearlessly. I embraced bad art. Minimalist art. Shitty art.

"I know you can make better than this." "You didn't put effort in this one."

Please put effort in me.

I am sorry the previous conditions I worked in were not enough, and the past support was not enough. I did have patreon. I did have some support. I had people willing to pay me for my time and effort and they even had patience. It was almost enough. Almost.

A flower still wilts if only given a slice of the sun it needs. It can try to grow in those conditions but it isn't going to be good.

"It used to be enough before!"

Maybe I grew. Maybe my appetite and my needs got bigger. Kids' meals don't fill me anymore. What right do I have to ask for more, when I have nothing to show for it? When what I make, may end up being terrible regardless?

"Remember you will love," I tell myself once more. Maybe I'll love regardless, in the end. Pages or no pages.

I do love terrible comics, in the end.

[mooremars]

Camelot 2023 Act 1 ramblings about the music and book and also the visuals again because turns out 3,000 words wasn't enough.

I cannot possibly recommend anyone actually read this because it is so absurdly, comically long but I needed to get some feelings out. Also it's in two parts because apparently Tumblr has a maximum character count and I hit it.

Overture

• Firstly, female conductor, we love to see it

• I love overtures and entr'actes and this show's is so good

• Shoutout to the orchestra

• I have never experienced a bad Broadway orchestra but still doesn't mean they do not deserve serious praise

• Does just the instrumental of Camelot make me very emotional and think about fundamental human goodness?

• Yes, this show did its job

• The end of the If Ever I Should Leave You part is just permanantly in my brain as the part during bows where they point to the orchestra

• Whatever the music that plays as everyone starts walking onstage is epic

• The vibe is set and I'm ready

Act 1 Scene 1: A hilltop near the castle at Camelot

• I've said it once and I'll say it one thousand times, I am obsessed with the way they've used the space in this show

• I love that they can walk up the back of the stage, I love that they have the stairs in front, I love that they've got so many exit and entrance points

• Sorry to the actors who probably had to do a lot of running around but it was fun for me

• As much as I like spectacle, I don't inherently prefer it over this kind of more minimalist thing

• But I do feel like they did a good job at conveying scale and drama even though the set is extremely minimal

• "I have the exact same amount of information that you do" just immediately starts the show off on the right foot

• This is a new take and I was here for it instantly

• And such a funny way to deliver a ton of exposition, this will be the first of what will become the prevailing theme of my rambling which is I adore Sorkin's writing beyond measure

• Merlyn's delivery drenched in sarcasm for every line is perfect and we clearly see where Arthur gets it from

• Specifically "do you know what calamity means?"

• But also "things in England are changing too fast"/"words that have never before been spoken"

• Establishing Sagramore in a funny way that becomes so serious by the end

• We jump right into the Sorkin dialouge rhythm and it feels so right

• There's the perfect amount of everyone overlapping each other and finishing the other characters' thoughts

• And also the jaunty music when most of the guards leave, like I don't exactly know why it sounds like that since it doesn't fit but I love it anyway

• I know it's part of at least the movie's score but like to me it's still strange, I've been calling it clown music in my head

• The difficulty finding the king exchange and also the pheasant hunting exchange are so funny and set the tone so well

• Can you see I'm attempting not the write out every line of dialouge?

• But also I love that we get this little build to Arthur to wonder what the hell is going on with this guy

• Because if you're me, you've come into this show with basically the association with JFK and that's it

• So I had no clue and was curious

• The knights have like mostly terrible points but Sagrimore's delivery of "snear all you like but five minutes ago we were at war with that girl's county and tomorrow I'll be swearing an oath to protect her with my life"

• He's not wrong

• The knights are so good, the actors are perfect

• Every bit of casting is inspired and those three are no exception

• "Arthur get the hell out of the tree"

• Again with no context, the tree really got me

• "Hiding, I'm obviously hiding" - I am instantly in, the delivery on this line is so funny

• Okay fine I was in from the way he said hello, also a hilarious delivery

• My roommate brought up immediately how effective it is not to have him do a British accent and how it again just makes Arthur relatable - genius

• Whatever voice he's doing is a perfect choice

• Also young Arthur is so much the right choice it's staggering to me that they ever did it any other way

• They thread the needle so perfectly of Arthur being young but not in a way where he's like an incompetent child

• Which I feel like is actually how some of the other versions with older actors still managed to come off

• But this Arthur is just young and trying

• "My mouth disconnects from my brain"/"I've witnessed that"

• As like a character note, I love that exchange but I also was worried this was gonna be what it usually is, which is a male character who cannot treat a woman like a human person

• But no, Arthur has absolutely no problem with that, his mouth only disconnects from his brain when he's trying to confess feelings and that is 1000% more endearing

• "Years of tutoring in philosophy and law, why didn't you ever teach me about love and marriage?"/"You're not marrying for love and there's nothing about it that can be taught."

• To which my roommate that I dragged to see this twice and who has just been forced to talk about this show with me, maintains that perhaps you could maybe convey that relationships are about communication

• That lesson might've helped just a bit

• "You're not marrying for love" like Merlyn is trying to warn Arthur and he sure did not listen

• "They should be reading" Arthur babe they literally can't, it's the Middle Ages

• Also the establishment of no magic is so deftly handled

• Arthur complaining that people think that dragons are real and you get exactly what this world is

• I love that I Wonder What the King is Doing tonight becomes his noble king music

• Also I just absolutety love any time anything has a recurring musical theme it just lights up some part of my brain every time

• The yelling of "he's scared" and all of the subsequent lyrics in that spot is again hilarious and just very good characterization

• Also the delivery of the slaying a dragon part whatever that singing accent is I love it

• Actually the way he sings all the parts where he's imagining what other people are saying

• The other characters have a lot of songs that are gorgeous and require some incredible vocals and songs with fun lyrics and fun performances but not at lot of them get to infuse this much personality and character into the songs through just the delivery

• Don't know if that's from the original or not but it's one of my favorite characters introductions I've seen in a bit

• From what I've seen this is definitely an escalation of previous versions and I adore it

• He's so annoyed, he hates this shit so much and he's so funny

• I mean also lots of credit to the lyrics because they are obviously very funny

• I love this song a lot

• Arthur's "shhhhit" when he realizes that he's managed to run into his future wife

• The multi-layered complication line, so quintessential Arthur

• The contrast between the gorgeous Julie Andrews channeling singing and Genny's brashness in her movement and dialouge

• Like obviously that's already in the lyrics but the book and direction just stretches it

• Everyone knew Phillipa Soo was going to be perfect and she is

• A lot of my strongest impressions are about Arthur

• Because I had no idea who the actor was and because in the limited amount of adaptations I'm familiar with of this whole story, Arthur is the bad guy or a good but extremely boring guy

• But I knew going in that I was gonna love Guenevere and Phillipa Soo even if I've never seen her on stage before

• So it was unsurprising

• Like my expectations were sky-high and she's so talented in every way and the writing for Genny is so good that she exceeded them anyway

• And she's so damn funny

• Obviously the whole rescued in the wood bit is already just a good joke and I'm honestly impressed with how funny the original songs are

• I am a sucker for the thing in stories where we know what's going to happen because they've been told so many times

• When they have a character say something the audience knows is foreshadowing

• "Cause a little war" is what I'm thinking of in this moment but there are tons and every time it's a hit with me

• The delivery of the clause one bit is perfect and her backing Arthur into falling on the bench and then just turning around and back to angelic singing

• The turnaround from the aggressiveness to the extremely soft and feminine singing is brilliant

• "The more knights slaughter each other, the fewer there are to slaughter the rest of us"

• The exchange about the dowry still being in the carriage

• Their deliveries are so funny

• They immediately bounce off of each other perfectly

• And Genny not even escaping with the dowry she's supposed to be using to buy her freedom, amazing

• "What is power uuuused for? That is a very interesting question."

• Genny just immediately knocking Arthur's socks off

• Trying to write out some of the word deliveries he does is so hard but there are a few that absolutely kill me

• They've known each other for five minutes and they're already having a debate

• "I've known kings, I'm daughter of a king so marrying a king doesn't have the same allure for me that it apparently has for you"

• She just speeds through those words at the end and it's great

• "They run to here" is another bit of hilarious delivery but I also love the contrast it sets up between Arthur trying to be kingly in a way that doesn't fit versus later when he does it his own way

• I could listen to them go back and forth saying why for ten minutes

• Genny's incredulousness when he says the weather

• I can't remember but I think she's walking away and then just turns to stare at him in absolute confusion

• Like he's so ridiculous that she can't help but engage

• I did a quick bit of intermission math and we know this takes place seven months before the Lusty Month of May which is obviously happening in May

• So Arthur is literally singing to Genny about how there's no winter until December while at best - assuming the one month later and six months later are rounded up - it is snowing at the absolute beginning of November

• More likely October

• No wonder Genny thinks he's full of shit

• His improv did not pan out

• This is a joke for me, thank you Aaron Sorkin

• Do love that canonically, Arthur is in fact singing the song Camelot - that he just made up in a panic - what a dork

• Genny's little interjections of skepticism are all so funny

• Also just instantly establishing her as someone you love

• She's perfect

• But my favorite is "my escape is time sensitive, do you understand that?"/Arthur still singing/"no he does not"

• These actors are both hilarious, the amount of stuff required of musical theater actors continues to blow my mind

• Like not only to do the whole singing, dancing, and acting thing but then you have to convey it to a whole theater but also not overact to the people up close and be able to do comedy and drama how

• I was in practically the back row up top and not a good view but extremely close (like seeing the actors spit close) on the side for the under 35 tickets and then also in very good seats and the performances by literally everyone never felt too much or not enough

• "Are there any other people in these woods you could recommend?"

• Also this moment which is the cutest thing you've ever heard

• Do I remember exactly what happened? No. But do I know it was adorable? Yes.

• "And we have poets in France"/"Oh yes of course... But do you?"/Genny angrily naming French poets/"Understood" and he's already singing again

• The entire performance of this song and especially getting her to sing along, so charming in the most annoying way

• But also she's sort of into it which is cute

• I do see on YouTube that there was a bit more to this French poets discussion which was probably right to cut but I am delighted to find literally anything new

• Sidebar

• I have been known to have issues with staying present when I watch things and not letting my mind start wandering. And one of the reasons I knew Camelot was good the first time was that I was totally engaged the whole show. But the last time, I did have the one moment where a thought popped into my brain during this song that completely threw me out of it

• And that thought was "this Barbie has taken a carriage ride to hell" after Genny says that line and like why brain?

• (For the record Genny and Arthur are both Barbies. They are everything. Lance is just Ken. Perfecting his body and soul is his beach. He is Kenough. Arthur and Genny have a terrible day every day. Lance only has a terrible day if Arthur and/or Genny look at him.)

• (I believe I have come up with a combination of words that have never been spoken before and perhaps a genuinely new opinion on a thousand year old legend)

• (In a bad way)

• Anyway

• The pure chaotic comedy of the knights finding Arthur and Genny freaking out is not something I can articulate but I adored so much

• Phillipa Soo is stealing the whole show in this one

• Does Genny come out of her hiding spot with her mouth wide open before she gets on the ground or am I misremembering?

• "We call that a sin of omission your majesty"

• With no remose "oh we call it that too"

• "Were you never going to tell me?"/"No I was going to get to it"/"When?"/"After I told you about the weather"

• Not a single bit of remose again

• I don't have anything to say, I just think the exchange is very funny

• I love not making Arthur any kind of royalty, he is truly just some guy

• Like I'm reading The Once and Future King and Arthur's lineage is so weirdly complicated and I just don't care, I like him as some guy

• "He discovered he didn't have his sword because I left it at... a house, that doesn't matter, that's my fault"

• Now that's a line that is funny on time one and fills you with dread afterwards

• The most exasperated "I was just going to borrow it for the day"

• Something about the delivery of "when I opened my eyes the square was filled with people shouting god save the king"

• Like Arthur never actually says out loud that he didn't want to be king but Genny gets it right away

• "I see you now, you're just a boy wearing a crown you never wanted sitting atop a throne two sizes too big"

• Just an absolute cutting response but Arthur doesn't take it that way at all, he's so earnest

• She reads him to filth but it doesn't even rattle him, he just takes it because it's true

• Gorgeous writing in what she says and his response

• "But provenance has put us both here, both of us highness and want it or not we are commanded to wear that crown and to grow into that throne"

• Chills, the delivery is outstanding

• We finally get King Arthur

• And Genny being convinced, all it took was one genuine moment and she's ready to engage

• Then Arthur again just taking so passionately about what he wants Camelot to be

• No wink, no sarcasm, no shame

• This show is unabashedly sincere and optimistic and I love it

• Genny falls in love with Arthur, I fall in love with Arthur, Genny falls in love with Camelot the idea, I fall in love with Camelot the show

• Everyone including the audience and Arthur were already in love with Genny for Phillipa Soo reasons so there's no moment for that one

• I feel like the trope-y thing would be to have Genny be a cynic here but no, she's just as much of an idealist as him

• She put up a little front of cynicism at the beginning but as soon as she gets the option of hope, she's choosing it instantly

• "Or you can stay. And together we may discover if power might be harnessed as a force of good"

• Like he's instantly treating her as a partner in this endeavor

• And I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight playing under it so beautifully and then the seamless musical transition back to Camelot is so perfect

• I am music stupid so I wish I had something to say about it but your songs have got to be tight to flow that way

• "I don't know if I'm worthy" also just a heartbreaker

• We don't really get to hear anything about Genny's life in France but she's clearly very opinionated and competent and I wonder if besides the whole wanting romance and adventure thing

• She also had an idea of what the life of a queen is like

• After all she's the daughter of one

• And she didn't imagine having this kind of role in actual ruling and doesn't know whether she can live up to this ideal that Arthur has set

• Like maybe she thought the only way she'd get to impact the world was knights killing each other over her or being the cause of a war, at least that's something

• But now she has a chance at more and she's grabbing it

• Genny singing the reprise is so beautiful thematically - it makes me a little teary just watching her instantly be like I see your dream and understand it and I want to be part of it but via some of the best singing maybe ever

• Such an amazing recontextualization from the original

• I've seen little clips of this reprise from 1961 and this one just feels warmer and more meaningful because it's about the ideals and not them confessing love at first sight

• And somehow more romantic

• They're instantly established as a team who share intellectual and philosophical similarities

• To so quickly convey that and make it believable

• It not only cements their relationship but makes them characters you root for

• And then the sounds of people coming in as soon as or maybe even before they get to finish singing together, like it's their world and they're falling for each other but there's no time, they're king and queen now and that will always supercede their relationship

• Also something about the moment when Arthur introduces her to the court just also really gets me

• "She's nice... some of the time"

• It's cute how smitten he is with her, all of her, immediately

• "Something about her makes me want to be a better king" (so Arthur is actually capable of expressing a romantic thought, don't get used it it)/"She's very attractive"/"Oh she is but it's not that"/"Arthur"/"Well it's not just that"

• I love the way they flip the speech Arthur gives Genny from the original about not feeling like a king until now meeting her

• But now that they've actually gotten to know each other a bit and it's after she's agreed to stay it actually makes sense here

• I do also love that even though he can't manage it to Genny's face, he does feel completely comfortable expressing his feelings about her to Merlyn

• The "oh she is" is so cute, he's so excited

• The music under his conversation with Merlyn before he starts just monologuing, very ominous

• I'm obsessed with it

• "We finally have peace" is another line delivery that I just need to sit and think about

• The joy of it, the relief

• Again the idea that Arthur has been a king at war this whole time

• Merlyn mentions, as part of a joke but still, almost as soon as we meet Arthur that he's fought armies

• He's not optimistic about the world because he hasn't seen conflict

• He's more determined because he sees what it does

• Channeling best man in all fiction Waymond Wang this is how I fight energy and that's very my shit

• Very much my shit might be a slight understatement

• It might not be surprising to learn that Arthur is my favorite thing about this show, they revamped this character so well

• So much of my life was spent in the media age of male anti-heroes and I love that we've returned to a point of male heroes

• Arthur idealistically talking about how they can finally start making Camelot for everyone and Merlyn walking off stage while the ensemble sings I think the part from the cut song and I assume some new stuff that's very Medieval church music

• So so good

• "What do I do next?" so eager and then just the emotional drop-off to his scared little boy when it becomes clear what's happening "Merlyn?"

• Stunning performance

• I think Arthur falls to his knees at some point but I'm already doubting

• The "what the hell do I do now?"

• Perfect scene ender

Act 1, Scene 2: The King's study - one month later

• The transition music between scenes is always good

• It's gonna be a struggle not to just quote this whole scene

• "Arthur, please call me Arthur" is so desperate like he has no one now, no actual human connections to him as a person instead of a king now that Merlyn is gone

• And then asking what she was called back home, he wants connection so badly

• And probably he still feels guilty for taking her from her home to be his wife

• "I was a royal princess, I didn't have friends"

• Well there is a reason they're both terrible at relationships

• I also love the way Phillipa Soo says Arthur in such a stilted way at the beginning of this scene and it becoming more natural every time she does it

• Genny telling him he's not attending to his duties with enthusiasm like she is not the least bit afraid to challenge the king a month in

• Love to see it

• Arthur's "I beg your pardon" when she asks about cortesans and the look he gives her

• "My father kept his women, his extra women, in their own wing of the palace. Where are yours? Might they cheer you up?"

• Genny the proactive problem solver

• Also something about the way she says extra women makes me laugh

• "I don't have extra women, I'm a married man. You were at my wedding" perhaps one of my favorite deliveries and lines in the whole show

• Genny's point of view in this scene is very interesting

• Like she does bring up that it's his legal right instead of dropping the whole thing and that's a choice

• Does she think he's lying about not having cortesans and reminding him that she is legally obligated to be cool with it so to be honest?

• Or is she just baffled by Arthur and his choices because this is a normal thing for a king to her?

• Or maybe since she already has feelings, she's trying to balance her own expectations to not get hurt?

• Possibilities

• "I'm aware of my legal right in that regard and I assure you I have no intention - oh my god - no intention of exercising it"

• Specifically the delivery of oh my god but the whole thing, he is so offended

• "And making the world into Camelot, are you abstaining from that too or will men at honor continue to plunder villages and take, rape, and kill whatever they please?"

• Genny

• Genny you are a hero

• She's so smart and fierce and unafraid to stand up to Arthur

• "I didn't make the world"/"You make a part of it"

• Arthur being so defensive and Genny calmly holding her ground

• She's taken to her new role so well

• And then Arthur admitting he doesn't know how to proceed without Merlyn, I love the way he builds trust in her in this scene

• "What would he say?"/"He'd say my god you're the slowest student anyone's ever tried to teach"/"Well I can convincingly say that"/"It's good that you mock me, kings should be mocked from time to time, it brings people pleasure. But for the record it's no fun for the king"

• Genny sounding so pleased with herself, Arthur getting out another sarcastic response

• Also what a lie, it is fun for him

• Mocking each other and public policy are their love languages

• "He once explained why but I got distracted because a white tailed eagle flew right by" with the most excitement and boyishness

• And then starting to go off on a tangent about eagles

• Never change Arthur

• I just think it's sweet the way she redirects him because she's fully committed herself to the idea of Camelot and her role in it

• "Pace freely at your own pace"

• Another brilliant line and delivery

• Channeling some Mary Poppins here

• Genny getting Arthur to think is so good

• "You had to pace and comcentrate to arrive at that?"/"It's hard to imagine why your country was willing to part with you"

• The proposition/resolved structure of this scene is very good

• And also that he starts with this pessimistic tantrum about human nature and Genny guides him back on track

• It's a great relationship moment but it also lets Arthur have some struggle and lets Genny be for Arthur what he was for her in the first scene

• Arthur collapsing on the floor and muttering "extra women" like wow he cannot handle being thought of as not a good person

• "That's it?"/"Wait"/"I wasn't going anywhere"

• Her being on the floor with him, gently pushing him

• He can't even maintain cynicism for more than a few minutes

• Them building the idea of the round table together, this is peak romance

• I can't just quote this scene in its entirety but every moment of it is a delight of them passing ideas back and forth

• "Isn't it also about the law?"/"It is"

• A standout delivery

• I love when they're working out the wordings like they make each other better

• "The law will be the stone upon which this rock - the rock upon - wait the church?"/"Have mercy"/"The law will be the rock upon which this church is built"/"Nothing can be more important"/"Nothing can be as important"

• This is what I love about Sorkin's writing

• The way that he has characters discuss ideas

• Like everything is an exciting discovery

• There's no singing in this scene but it has so much rhythm and is so compelling when in another writer's hands it would be boring and forgettable

• I broke out a chunk but it's so dense there are so many words and I love each one

• Genny counting down to his return, she already knows him so well

• Again I am trying not to type out every line

• I think they both yell for the page but I'm actually not sure, either way they are so excited and yelling something

• The new book has done so much to deepen their relationship, I adore these idealistic little nerds

• Arthur cannot contain himself

• His attempt to cool things down for himself by taking his hands off her face and then "you were very helpful, thank you"

• Smooth

• Convincing

• Definitely professional and platonic

• Truly do not know how Genny does not realize he's in love with her at this point but she sure is not gonna get better at that

• "And I suppose France too"/"I know that hurt"/"A little bit" and then he laughs it's adorable

• They're both so giddy here

• "Arthur I did already know that about you, that you were a decent fellow"/"I'm glad"

• They're in love. They are so in love.

• Arthur has taken on Genny's tone for the word inspiration when he talks to the knights

• "You've invited the French" every time Sagramore says it, it's just as funny

• "We may not be born equal"/"We are not sire" (with so much contempt)/"So our laws will make us equal" (with no room for disagreement)

• The immediate conflict

• And we see Arthur being a king and taking a hard line which we don't get to see much in this show and I love it

• "What about God's laws?"/"Not. Our. Jurisdiction" like are we sure this is not actually from the west wing

• I'm internally cheering when I hear it, I love this line far too much

• It's funny but also authoritative and kingly

• I get that some people do not vibe with Sorkin's style and that's fine but I very much do

• This show is so for me it's kind of incredible it was not made with that purpose

• A Sorkin character who would love Sorkin's work, I just adore it

• And according to the funniest line from any review I read, also has Sorkin's haircut

• That just lives in my brain because it's funnier than any piece of media criticism I will ever hear

• The knights already dissenting is very good but also that they don't fully agree yet with each other

• They build it in immediately and that's such a good choice, it makes every escalation feel totally plausible instead of the knights just easily falling for Mordred's bullshit

• Dinadan quoting Plato's ideas and saying how they're the well-educated people who should be in charge is great

• I love that the knights get to be characters and have thoughts

• Their constant vacillating between loyalty to the king and loyalty to the power structure they benefit from

• One of my favorite running tensions

Act 1, Scene 3: The countryside outside of Camelot - six months later

• The performance of C'est Moi is so funny

• Going 100% immediately

• Jordan Donica was just as perfectly cast as everyone else

• The lyrics are so funny and then he is just so loud

• His little whispered "C'est Moi" after the second verse while posing is so much funnier than it is on the cast recording

• "Had I been made the partner of Eve/we'd be in Eden still" is my favorite lyric

• The scream on clean destroys me

• Lance is always at a 10 and he's so delusional, I'm obsessed with him

• There's so much loud breathing in this performance which I love

• And whirling his sword around the stage

• "Beware enemies of Arthur do you hear me beware, from this moment you answer to me" while Arthur is literally unconscious behind him, this is comedy

• "You raised your sword to me"/"Oh I was saying hello"/"I did not know that"

• Lance is not sorry at all and it's hilarious

• He's just on another planet compared to everyone else and I love it

• Also Arthur so pure, just seeing a random person and trying to say hi

• Like you're the king of the country, you do know many people are not exactly going to be friendly, right?

• "I honestly thought I was more recognizable to the French"

• "Have you changed your Francs to English shillings?"/"Why?"/"This man's face is on money"

• Arthur subtly trying to tell Lance what's happening but the word subtle is not in Lance's vocabulary

• "I'm underwhelming in person"

• Says the man that keeps making French people instantly fall in love with him in the woods

• "My security detail... right in the nick of time"

• "I beg your majesty to forgive for me for by forgiving me I'll suffer even more"

• Lance is screaming the whole time

• I don't know how he does it

• "But my strength comes from purity of spirit"/"What was that?"/"Purity of spirit, my personal relationship with the almighty, he favors me"/"I'd keep that to yourself"

• I can't write it out but this

• And this is about to have to switch out for the rest of the show so like even more screaming somehow

• He's so funny, it isn't reasonable

• Also love that his language is the least modern of them

• It fits

• Seems like some of his lines come directly from the original book and it works amazingly

• "Be a faultless example to children" is another iconic delivery

• Also Lance asking for a mission, incredible

• He just plays everything so straight and it's perfect

• Like not a single acknowledgement of the ridiculousness of this character

• Arthur will literally get a concussion to avoid a social function, relatable

• "Until you came along and whacked me in my head"/"AND FOR THAT I BEG YOUR HARSHEST PUNISHMENT"/"Nope, nope, we're not going back to that"

• Yes the all caps is necessary, Lance is always speaking in caps, if he lived in a time a cell phones all of his texts would look like that

• And Arthur's tone when he responds

• When Lance starts singing again and then Arthur just says nope so many times

• This is their whole relationship

Act 1, Scene 4: A park near the castle

• This scene is just a magnificent Phillipa Soo showcase that we have been blessed with

• Like she is just so talented and I am blown away

• There's a reason Lusty Month of May is the song they have the most out there

• "The birds and the bees with all of their vast/amorous past/gaze at the human race aghast" is my favorite and she does it so perfectly

• Also the intro music just exactly captures that buzzy spring feeling

• My roommate and I both had the experience where the first time we saw the show, none of the music stuck with us

• And then the second time, all of the sudden it burrows into your brain

• This burrowed first because of course, it's so vibrant and lovely

• The original music is so good and somehow the transition from the more modern dialouge into the songs is seemless

• Genny has two missions: justice for all and bringing sex to England

• Look there's none in her own marriage and she needs an outlet, make those people kiss, it's all you have

• Genny's so fun and adorable in this song and it's perfect and I have no notes

• I'm just gonna go watch the today show performance and bask in it, this is the most classic Broadway musical sequence in the whole thing

• I love the idea that she's inviting all these normal people in and the beginning of the knights absolutely hating it

• "Be right quieter"

• And when they refer to Genny as a guest in the country

• The original is very and everyone loves her and I love that there's this tension where the people with power don't like her but everyone else does

• They say all the quiet parts out loud in this scene

• The show needs the knights so badly to show the discontent growing over time

• But they still respect tradition enough to enforce respect for the queen on Pellinore

• "I've only lived here a short time"/"Oh and you're already the queen, well done"/"I really had nothing to do with it"

• "Full of youth he was but brooding over problems that would confound Solomon. Ever met him your majesty?"/ "Constantly, he's my husband."

• With such affection ahhhh

• "You must be Morgan Le Fay... oh how he'd go on about the loveliness of Morgan Le Fey, her unsurpassing beautiful"

• Genny getting emotionally slapped in the face, it hurts so much

• The first crack in their relationship because they couldn't talk to each other...

• "I'm glad that nice young man found a nice young lady"

• Why does this make me feel things?

• I love the royal music every time

• "As you were everyone, pick grapes, eat flowers, or uh the other way around"

• Arthur and Genny's little catch up about Pelli is very cute, we don't get to see them be cute for a while after this so I just want to appreciate it

• Lance having no social awareness and continuing to make proclamations while Genny could not care less and is actively trying to speak to someone else, brilliant

• Genny and Arthur just waiting for Lance to stop talking after she keeps being interrupted and then Genny rushing out her lunch invitation and Arthur rushing out his response

• Arthur immediately wanting to run ideas by Genny, she is crucial to the development of Camelot and it's very much not a secret

• Arthur's "uh oh" when Lance is doing some casual misogyny

• "That sounded like a friendly exchange of pleasantries"/"It was not"

• No fucks for Genny today

• I wish I could one day know the translation of Genny and Lance's friendly exchange of pleasantries

• "Who would serve as the standard?"/"Oh certainly not me your majesty"/"See no hubris"/"My standards are much too high"/"Dammit Lance"

• "Have you achieved perfection milord?"/"Please say no"/"Of course I haven't your majesty"/"Good"/"Refining the soul is an endless struggle... but physical perfection"/"No"/"Yes"/"Go back to speaking French"

• "And in your quest for spiritual perfection have you considered the value of humility?"/"Ah something we should all consider. In fact let's take two minutes of silence to consider the value of humility."

• The dialouge between the three of them is so funny in this scene

• The ship is sinking and Arthur is just there with a tiny bucket while Lance and Genny keep creating giant new holes

• Genny calling Lance a jackass is both hilarious and also so valid

• "She already has an affectionate nickname for you"

• We have officially reached the beginning of the end, well we had some nice moments

• Like imagine if Pelli didn't start going on about how in love Arthur was with Morgan and then Arthur didn't show up with his new best friend who immediately implied women were too stupid to engage in government

• Genny was having a no fucks day and was probably ready to do a stupid thing and maybe that stupid thing was her husband

• A true tragedy

• "And with humility I"

• Dinadan's line deliveries are so dry and good

• And Genny's laugh

• "And whom will the three of you want to impress?"/"We want to impress the king too."/"Ah yes English men"

• I love the knights, they've all got their own little comedic touches in this song

• Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss Genny

• Take Me to the Fair is a masterpiece

• I don't know what constitutes a hot take about this show because there are 5 people talking about it

• But my hot take is that as much as Lusty Month of May is a brilliant and amazing song

• This is actually the Phillipa Soo tour de force

• Her fake crying is so good

• There are so many good flourishes in the singing

• Same thing I feel about I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight, Phillipa Soo is just enhancing every line with her hilarious delivery

• Also this sound

• Sagramore is always operating at 50% more intensity than the rest of the knights and it's perfect

• Him having to be held back by the other two when Genny sings to him

• It's involuntary at this point that I turn my head back at French during this verse

• His very loud delivery of "I swear to you the challenge will be met"

• "Sirrrr Liiiiionel"/"Ma'am"/"Ugh"

• And when she gives his chest a little slap after "and young du Lac"

• Perfect

• And her laugh-cry at the end of Lionel's part

• Their faces when she touches them are also just very confused and funny, she is not good at this

• I love when the knights are singing together, bringing up Lance really has wrapped them around her finger

Act 1, Scene 5: The King's study - the night before the tournament

• "You know that it's your move right?"/"I did not know that. I'll need to alter my strategy now"

• Honestly so relatable I suck at chess, Pelli is the best

• "If we're to care about justice, we need to care even more about injustice"

• Just a good little Sorkin nugget

• Pelli refusing to understand any of Arthur's ideas, excellent

• "Do I understand that you intend to be history's first king to yield power?"/"Oh now you're catching on"

• I do just love Arthur so much

• And the delivery of "she wrote what you just read"

• He's so pleased to inform Lance that Genny's writing treatises about justice

• Pelli's smug little "it's your move" like that's correct, no one is allowed to not respect women in Arthur's study

• "He's had you in checkmate for an hour and a half"

• Arthur's patience is astounding, Lance should be taking notes while he's perfecting his spirit

• "Would you like to play me or do you ever do anything but perfect your soul?"/"No I also perfect my body"

• Again just perfect deliveries and honestly so much respect to the new book for making Lance even more irritating but eventually more human too

• I am not dragging Lance, this is a compliment

• Just the way Jordan Donica plays it completely straight without being able to detect sarcasm is hilarious

• "The arrangement I'm in is called a marriage, having some fun would be called treason. And finally I hate his breathing guts."

• Setting up the consequences we know are coming with a little joke, I like it

• "Well be sure and give us clear skies tomorrow when you're arranging things with god tonight"

• Savage, I don't like most of the original dialouge but we had a winner with this one

• Her delivery just elevates it

• "No one could refuse your wish"

• The gall of Lance to say that like that in front of Arthur like he is shameless

• "Why do you have to bait the man?"/"I dislike him, I thought I was making that clear"

• Genny is so relatable

• Their first fight and Arthur's already insulting the French, I'm not sure why he thought this was going to go well

• Arthur trying to delicately ask Genny to withdraw her permission from Dinadan

• He's trying to have this conversation as her husband and not her king but Genny is not even having it a little

• Genny explaining that she already gave permission for all the knights is so funny

• I know they're basically the original lines but ya know, sometimes Lerner nailed it

• "It will seem to the entire court as if you are rooting for his downfall and championing his defeat."/"The only reason it will seem that way is because I'm rooting for his downfall and championing his defeat."

• "He's going to embarass those three. These are not men who take well to embarrassment."

• Like Arthur already knows exactly who his knights are

• He knows that they don't exactly match up to his ideals

• The delivery on "will you withdraw your permission" is also spot on like Arthur is ready to exit this conversation right now

• Also on "if I do will you forgive me"

• Like he knows that's not happening

• "Not as long as I live, no"

• Perfect riff on the original book's line

• Arthur doing some investigating on Genny hating Lance like he knows before she even does

• Ouch

• And then him starting to get frustrated when she's not answering like babies' first fight is not going well

• "Because he needs to be brought down to earth... literally not metaphorically"

• Like she has yet to be wrong

• "Merlyn never taught me how to handle a woman"/"You didn't read the book?"/"There's a book? No I can see from your face that there's not a book. Though maybe in France they would have published something, no I can still see on your face"

• We love a Genny dripping with sarcasm moment

• And Arthur being an idiot nerd

• He's so so stupid

• Another one of my truly favorite lines and deliveries, he is so excited that he completely forgets he's mad at her for a second and then pouting when he realizes

• "If the king wishes me to withdraw my permission, let him so command... nope, then I will bid you goodnight"

• The aggressiveness on her daring him to command her is so much

• Perfect

• I love her nope, a little power play

• Because she knows he won't and he knows he won't and she's happy to remind him of that they both know that and then leave

• His silence is doing so much work too

• Damn this scene is good

• "And before I go to bed as a gesture to Lancelot and to you, I'll pray it's over quickly"/It will be"

• They're so mad, I love it

• "There should be a book"

• Grumbling sullen Arthur is very funny even if How to Handle a Woman is lowkey the worst song

• And Arthur's worst impulse, which the narrative knows because it plays under him talking about vengeance and what he's entitled to later

• Like they do a good job recontextualizing it but it's still not the best

• Just hearing him sing the word threaten is kind of jarring, I cannot even slightly imagine this Arthur even thinking it once

• In my opinion they should've just cut it, I'd gladly take more Sorkin dialouge instead

• I do appreciate the way they scaled back this music in the rest of the show

• Because it's all over the second act of the movie, Arthur and Genny's theme if you will

• Like even during their last conversation

• Because they're not the love story so their theme isn't really a love song

• But then here, they play it under Arthur's worst impulses at the end of act 1 and banish it which is so smart

Act 1, Scene 6: A grandstand - the next day

• The music coming into this scene and when Arthur and Genny show up, again fantastic

• The outright hostility between the knights and Lance, they turned it so far up in this version

• Pushing him down and shit

• I love Athur and Genny showing up and getting to see them actually be king and queen and have their over-the-top outfits and crowns in this and the last act 1 scene because it's so removed from who they are the rest of time

• Arthur's speech at the beginning trying to glorify them not having the tournament and how great losing is and having to be stopped by Genny

• He's trying so hard and his speech is not good

• The fact that she basically tells him to stop and his response is fine like I think he forgets that he's actually in charge

• I love a sword fight

• The movement, the drama, the loud clanging...

• I am but a humble girl raised on the Pirates of the Carribean movies

• Dinadan being a dick before the fight with "and now for your lesson sir"

• The way Lance knocks the sword out of Dinadan's grip and makes him pick it up before defeating him, such an asshole move

• I truly can't tell if Lance has just such a superiority complex that he doesn't realize what parts of his own behavior are making people dislike him or he's just so stuck in his toxic little mindset that he doesn't care if people hate him for it

• I kind of feel like Lance is so into his specific notions of the world that even he doesn't really know why he acts the way he does

• "Dinadan seemed very inspired by your kerchief, should we continue?"

• "You know he almost had him, right up until the moment he never stood a chance"

• Their fight being played out by proxy while Arthur makes snide comments and they give each other looks is good shit

• Sagramore's scream, he's always going so hard

• The fact that Arthur fighting instead of Lionel is new for this

• Genius

• So good

• The dialouge around it is good too

• The temptation to just transcribe the whole thing is so strong

• Commanding Lance to pick back up his sword like damn

• I love seeing this new side of Arthur

• He can and will fight and he's good at it

• "I know what a damn baguette is"

• His little bit to Lance about it just being about morale is very good

• But also he can see what's going on even if Genny can't so is it?

• The fact that he may well have won the fight if it wasn't for a cool bird, what a man

• Fun fact about me, I didn't even see the bird or realize that's why he got distracted until the last time

• He and Genny are like very much not in a good place this moment but he will let it slide to point out a bird

• Arthur's fall is very good

• Can you tell I think this scene is also very good, I've only written it like twelve times

• The fact that they're letting people fight with swords and there isn't a doctor for 12 miles, amazing planning by everyone

• The bit of everyone thinking Arthur was dead and him sarcastically correcting them is amazing 100% of the time

• "He put life back into him" is just consistently hilarious

• "I'm not wanted here Arthur"

• With the most heartbreaking delivery

• Aw we finally see Lance have some shred of being an actual person

Act 1, Scene 7: The castle terrace - on the evening of the same day

• I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight intro-ing into this scene

• "Well you got me there" being screamed is perfect

• Pelli sensing that something is bothering Arthur, their relationship is very sweet

• Pelli describing the way Genny and Lance were looking at each other, what a shit stirer

• "It may be the only way to get him to stay"/"Maybe it's best if you let him go"/"Let him go?"/"Maybe it's best"/"Why is that?"/"Well...You said yourself, morale"

• Like she's trying to protect them but she won't say it

• For obvious reasons

• But it's confirming what Arthur already suspects

• And just drawing them further apart

• Another great her silence is doing so much work moment

• The entire telling Lance he's being invested discussion is so intense

• So much anger simmering in Arthur that can't help but come out in the line deliveries in the beginning

• Genny refusing to engage and turning her back to the whole thing

• "I'm sure he'd like to hear it from another child of France"/"This is my country now"

• Oh boy I love this exchange

• Like she's trying, she's trying so hard

• And I don't know what the fuck Arthur is thinking with that one, in what way could she possibly respond that's not going to be bad for him?

• Arthur leaving them alone like whyyyy

• And then Arthur giving Genny back her bloody kerchief, fuck

• All is very much not forgiven here

• "God dammit Pelli, I wasn't dead"

• Genny making it clear she does not believe Arthur was dead, I appreciate that she's also very clear on the fact that their world is not magical

• I wonder if Lance does think he willed Arthur back to life

• Probably

• "Don't ever say it out loud. Neither of us can ever say it out loud"

• This was another straight up gasping in the theater moment

• The entire conversation between Genny and Lance is so good and tense

• And the delivery on that line just feels like getting punched in the gut

• Phillipa Soo is amazing

• I love that she won't let them say it, that she's fighting it

• And the way she cuts him off, the way she makes him agree to not say it

• This is the intense love she wanted and it doesn't need to be said which is exactly what she needed to feel from Arthur but didn't get

• Also Lance just trying to confess his feelings the first second he can is just such an interesting character choice

• Like the truth is his purity of the soul bluster doesn't hold up to the slightest temptation

• He's ready to betray Arthur the second he leaves the room

• It's all a front

• Not intentionally, like he believes the things he says he believes

• But he can't keep to it

• I think he's so drawn to Arthur because Arthur actually has the qualities he's proclaiming define him

• But I don't even think Lance knows any of this about himself

• At least not until later

• He's just impulsive

• Which is I think what makes him an interesting character to me but also makes his motivations hardest to decipher

• Before I Gaze at You Again is such a stunning song

• And watching Phillipa Soo just emote for the whole time

Act 1, Scene 8: The great hall - on that evening

• All the music that starts this scene is brilliant

• "I'll never disappoint you"/"I know"

• I just...

• Like we the audience know but also the characters sort of all know and they are determined not to let it happen but that only makes it happen anyway

• Ugh those lines are a little nothing but they're everything

• I have the YouTube clips of Richard Burton's version of this and it does just indicate how well they've modernized

• Theater has changed so much so the pacing of 1961 compared to this is kind of fascinating

• This is also actually the writing I think is the best from the original and it is so fascinating to compare the two versions which I'm sure someone has done and I want to read it because there is so much to say

• It's so bold to close act 1 with a speech instead of a song

• I had no context coming in so they had me in the first half, I wasn't sure if this was Arthur's turn into the villain moment

• Once again I'm just like pointing to the whole speech and yelling how good it is

• Whoever decided this belonged on the cast recording is my personal hero

• This is just on my normal spotify playlist and as long as I'm not reading, I will not skip it

• But I love the idea that in the original book Arthur starts out by declaring his love for Genny and Lance and in this version it's like he's actively talking to the audience to defend himself

• To say he's not some stupid optimistic kid, that he sees everything we have

• Comes out swinging

• I can't explain how much "proposition: I am not a befuddled king" shook me, I was ready for shit to go down and I love it as the opener to this

• The pause before "whom they love", the sadness in it

• "And she didn't choose whom she married"

• Like Arthur can never get rid of that guilt

• The push and pull of this entire thing where he will try to make an argument with himself that everything is fine but the bitterness keeps seeping in until there's no rationality left

• Trying not the write out the whole thing but the rhythm of it, the pacing, this performance is spectacular

• The way the audience startles when he starts screaming

• Like he's having his back and forth rational debate with himself and finally we see him lose that control

• And it is the good shit

• I can't explain how much I came in with no context for this show and how much this completely threw me in the best way

• We're finally a glimpse of what's happening inside Arthur's head, to see the way he's been holding so much back from everyone else

• I love that he's still yelling at Merlyn, not exactly sure what I want to read into that, I feel like there are a few lines of thought

• "Am I not entitled to a man's vengence?"

• Perhaps my favorite line in the first half

• Every line is sort of my favorite but I guess let's settle on this one

• Because the original is "I demand a man's vengence"

• And same sentiment but entitled is so much more toxic

• Like the thing about this magic-less universe is that Arthur wasn't destined for some greatness and so he pulled the sword from the stone

• He wasn't owed something, he didn't deserve it, it just happened and he chose to rise to the challenge

• And this is the first moment he's decided he might be entitled to anything

• And then he does a 180 into deserving nothing

• "Proposition: I'm not a man, I'm a king"

• Like wow so much to unpack psychologically there

• I mean he and Lance have very much the same problem of trying to suppress their own humanity but the reasons are so different

• When Arthur switches into his idealistic mode and they start playing I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight because he's being kingly, literally gets me every time

• The entire thing is so good, I love the second half so much

• "I wasn't trained for this"

• I love the running theme of Merlyn training Arthur in all of these important skills but never teaching him how to handle emotions and relationships and uh maybe he should have

• There were perhaps some limits to Merlyn's wisdom that set Arthur up to fail

• Because he's been king since he was barely out of childhood

• He never got the chance to have normal, equal relationships where he could figure shit out

• So instead he just pushes it all down because he's not wrong in that he doesn't get the luxury of following his emotions

• I love every second of this scene

• I love every line, every delivery, every movement

• Like it is a hard ask to make an actor just walking around the stage monologuing compelling in a musical and this is so so compelling

• Just on the whole of this show, I don't know that I've ever been so blown away by a stage performance as I was watching Andrew Burnap and this scene is just a perfect encapsulation of why

• Whatever he's in next, I will go

• Okay real talk something about this man's face just renders it unrecognizable to my brain so more than likely I'll see something and be like wow that person was amazing, who was that and then it will turn out to be him

• I say specifically because I happened to be watching Under the Banner of Heaven the whole time I've been having a Camelot obsession and how did I find out he was in it? I happened to see his name in the end credits four episodes in...

• But anyway I will at least try to know whatever he's in next so I can go on purpose because this performance is living in my brain and I don't think it's leaving

• I do make fun of previous versions of this show for casting people who are clearly not musical theater actors in this role but actually I do think casting actors who do straight plays does add so much as long as they aren't terrible at singing

• All of which to say again that I do think this was some of the most perfect casting I have ever seen

• Basically the statements you can tell Andrew Burnap is not a musicals person and you can absolutely tell Phillipa Soo and Jordan Donica are absolutely musicals people

• Are both extreme compliments to the people that decided on this casting

[falseficus]

there were too many deeply touching simply drawn comics that got popular on here and now you guys will make a slow, thoughtful, minimalistically stylized comic for any random shower thought you have. sorry to be a hater. yes art speaks to the human spirit and what speaks to the spirit is beautiful and valuable. fine. but some of it could speak a little less. okay, im done. looks back wetly over my shoulder a couple times as you let me wander away and you don’t call out you don’t even notice my leaving

[mymelodyisme]

If I understood it right you have sdv oc's? I'd love to know a few fun facts abt them🤗

Hiiiiii :) I apologize now for the length this post will take upon your screen.

I really only have Mys and the few people in her backstory 😭 (I can come up with some fun stuff for them now though :D)

Mys is mostly a self insert because I’ve gotten really into making her one but here’s a few fun facts about her!!

1. Before she moved into the valley she was actually way less colorful and looked a bit more classy and put together. Her boyfriend was a bit of a minimalist and snob and wasn’t a huge fan of bright colors. So she wore pale clothes, lots of skirts and dresses, her hair was usually long and tied up neatly, etc. I’d argue she also dyed her hair a few times to make it look more like a natural color (it’s naturally that pink/red shade). Three days before moving she bought a pair of overalls and had a wild time just adding a bunch of details to them, even if it wasn’t super well put together ☺️ (the space halo heart is my own logo btw lol)

2. Mys came into the farm life clueless, friendless, and lonely 100%. It’s why she’s so eager to befriend the townies and comes off a little strong. It’s also why she can’t say no and so quick to overexert herself if someone asks her for help 😭 if she knew that most people in town had no faith in her based off the way she looked and acted when she first arrived, she would likely cry. She’s probably a little too nice sometimes too 🥺 if you’re mean to her she’ll take it and cry alone later on.

3. She talks A LOT. When she gets to know you well enough she’ll just start talking about something she’s really into and go on for hours always finding something new to point out (poor Shane lol). I once said if she was a real character in the game one of her heart events would be her holding the farmer hostage as she explained the entire lore of her show after she invited them in to watch it with her. (I have done this myself so many times.) 😭 She’s also a bit of thoughtless speaker sometimes. Saying things a little too quickly before her brain processes it.

4. On her slow farm days she’ll stay inside and catch up on tv. She really likes trash tv drama and novellas. Adding to that, she’s a huge romantic. She swoons and sighs and hopes that someone would love her so strongly. Especially after what she went though with her ex 🥹 Other hobbies include: gaming, journaling (she picked this one up after she moved), taking as many photos as possible of everything, reading (comics, romance novels, and mysteries) daydreaming, and collecting things (stuffed animals mostly)

5. She loves a good lemonade and pizza! She doesn’t really drink (at least not until she met Shane 😭) and will go into the saloon to chat with Emily over lemonade. To win Shane’s friendship she started buying a pizza to share with him, and she’d sit patiently at a booth until he came in (on easy days.) she also goes around and says hi to everyone at least once. If she’s just having me-time, you can find her in a booth writing + doodling in her journal with a bunch of candy around her.

6. I just think this little fun fact is really cute but when she found out Shane loved peppers she planted some in her greenhouse so she’ll always have some to give or use for food. 🥺 (I have that in game 🤭 and she only gives him high quality ones)

7. She’s magic babey! ✨ the day before she moved her mom gave her a red brooch. After her grandpa passed away, he sent it to her mom with instructions to only give it to Mys when she decided to move to the valley. She only found out about it when the wizard pulled it towards him and suggested that someone in her family must have arcane experience.

😭😭 sorry that was so long. I’ll write like two facts about the others

The ex: dark brown hair, brown eyes, suits (lol idk)

1. Has no name yet 😩 Can he even count as a character?? Literally the worst boyfriend ever. He and Mys dated in high school up until he ghosted her a month before she moved. He been sleeping with her best friend, Celia, and then proceeded to elope with her. This man kept Mys around with jewelry, promises, and guilt.

2. He was an executive for Joja. Mys worked for the company because of him, and ultimately had to leave for that same reason. She found out about the elopement at the office, and had a long cry in the bathroom stalls. (Btw he totally gets his butt kicked by Shane at some point)

Celia: Blonde, thin, very pretty and model-like, wears a lot of tight clothes and has that one fake best friend voice

1. The “best friend,” the betrayer. She clung onto Mys because Mys was really easy to manipulate. 🥺 Wasn’t very nice to her at all but made her believe she loved her like a sister. When Mys met Haley it was like meeting a younger Celia. 🥹 I guess mys still missed her because she tried to be Haley’s friend despite how mean she was. Luckily, Haley actually becomes pretty nice and apologizes for her rude behavior.

2. She would absolutely be a modern day influencer. Perhaps she is (if phones exist in this interpretation 🤔 I like to think they do but pelican town can’t host then or something 😭)

Todd: 7ft tall, thin but definitely works out, looks like he has money and works with money, very serious and classy 😭

1. Mys’s Boyfriend year 3? She and Shane are already pretty established as smitten by the town but they’re both stuck at the fork in the road of to be or not to be. (At some point Mys finally makes her move only for him to reject her out of fear 😭). Anyways!! She was asked by mayor Lewis to take an important business trip into the city to meet with an investor who wanted to open the land for expansion and more agricultural work. He figured Mys, as the local farmer, would have better input. Shane was supposed to accompany her into the city but they got into a bit so she left alone (Shane realized he was being stupid and ran to catch the bus but jsut barely missed it, his missed opportunity at love 😭). The investor turned out to be a guy named Toddrick Theodore Tapps. He was quickly taken with her because she was just so lively of a person. He could not believe she was the local farmer. He decided to head back into the valley with her to visit the land and ended up staying in one of Mys’s spare rooms at the farmhouse. He didn’t help her on the farm at all, mostly just walked around took notes, and inspected the quality of everything.

2. He’s very jealous. He and Shane are constantly at each other’s throats. Mys told him all about her best friend Shane :) and he knew immediately that Mys was in love with him. 😭 he did NOT expect Shane to be so dingy tho which is funny. He mentioned that to his face too. (It doesn’t help that Todd TOWERS over the both of them and looks like he comes from old money.) He polices mys’s friendships a bit commenting how some of the townies are rather immature, some seem like terrible people, and in particular, that Shane is a bad influence on those around him. When she gets upset at his obvious disrespect he apologizes for saying things that hurt her feelings 😭 the man literally only puts up with Shane for her. I do think he is romantic though, and definitely what Mys imagined being romanced would be like. He’s pretty rich so he spoils her, and buys the town’s approval with generous donations.

3. He’s a bit of himself. He’s not a bad guy, but he does think he’s a quality man and he loves what he does. So when he asks Mys to move to the city with him where he’ll spoil her for the rest of her life he’s surprised that she actually wants to be a farmer dealing with dirt, grime, monsters, and all the things in between. This man genuinely tries to convince her to give up the farm, and even tries to make a compromise that the farm will still be up and running but they’ll hire people to tend to it. (He probably also suggested changing the name to something more serious). He and Mys get into a fight over it, and he tells her what time his bus to the city will be leaving. She wishes him well, and a happy life with a wife who shares his values, and doesn’t show up that day.

4. I like to imagine years down the line Mys and Shane are in the city doing some work and play when they run into him. Both parties find out that the other is engaged/married. And they make up. He still can’t believe Mys chose Shane tho 😭 “I thought you would choose him, but I’m still surprised. You seemed so smitten with him, but he didn’t look like he was ever going to make anything of that.”

[elephant-bones-comics]

Theory of Relativity- Issue #1

Well, here it is, the first issue of the superhero comic I've been working on since I finished college back in 2011. If you enjoy it, please like or reblog. If this seems like a project you'd be interested in working on, I'm looking for artists (pencilers, inkers, colorists, background and character artists) to help make this a reality, so drop me a message.

Aether Issue 1

Page 1

Panel 1

A winding concrete walkway at the bottom of the screen extends into the background and leads to the front of a distinguished, red brick building which we view from a 3/4th perspective. The building has two wide wings that extend in either direction from the portico in the front, which itself has a short staircase leading up to the stairs. Above the door, a banner hangs reading: “End of Summer Social mixer Tonight”. The two wings are periodically marked with a window every view feet, four on each side and on each of the two stories, and all are illuminated with the silhouettes of vibrant, dancing forms.

Dialogue Box: St. Jane Claire University, Falchion, New Jersey.

Panel 2

A close up of a red, plastic cup with a multi-image roto-scope stream of a ping pong ball dropping into it in a slight arc. Alcohol splashes out of the sides from the ball landing in the water.

Sound Effects (small font, near the rim of the cup): PLOOP!

Bubble (from a source off screen): Ha ha! The score stands at 2 – zip!

Panel 3

A 21 year-old dressed in a backwards cap and a sweatshirt reading “SJC” is drinking the red cup from the previous panel. In front of him is a ping pong table with five other similar cups arranged in what would be a 3-2-1 triangle pointing away from him if it were not for a cup missing from the back row. In the background, a group of students drawn in minimalistic detail are cheering him on, the most dominant of them being two young men on the right: The taller one has brown hair and brown eyes and is dressed in a polo shirt, jeans and wire frame glasses, while his companion is a stockier, Hispanic man with black hair, brown eyes and is wearing a more casual t-shirt and jeans.

Taller Spectator in the background: Hey Joey! You still seeing straight?

Joey (beer pong player): Hmph.

Page 2

Panel 1

A close-up on the two spectators highlighted in the previous panel. In the foreground, closer to the reader, the second of the two has his hands to the sides of his mouth and is simultaneously shouting and smiling to the combatants. His companion standing further back is turned towards the young man and has a more cautious expression on his face, extending a hand to the young man’s shoulder to quell him.

Davis: Well, if you think you’ve had enough for the night, I’ll be more than happy to step in for ya!

Sonny: No he won’t…

Connected Dialogue Bubble: Sorry Davis, but we all know you can’t carry your alcohol in a bucket.

Panel 2

We view Davis as if looking over his older companion’s shoulders, from the opposite side of the previous panel and with the man’s face making up the left side of the frame. Davis looks upward towards his friend with a mischievous smile and holds his palms apologetically, against his collar bones, upside-down and facing his friend.

Davis: Come on, Sonny. It’s the last party night of the summer. I might as well end it on a high note.

Sonny: Well, sorry if I don’t consider waiting outside of a public restroom as you blow your guts out at 11:00 pm a high note.

Panel 3

The focus returns to Joey at the ping pong table, as he holds a tiny plastic ball in his hand facing away from him at shoulder level and his elbow pointing towards the ground. His expression seems a bit glazed with the beginnings of a drunken stupor, his eyes squinted and his mouth slack jawed. Davis and Sonny are seen in the background with doubtful looks on their faces.

Joey: ‘Sides, you don’t have to worry one bit, little man. I still have enough game to put this Beta house loser in his place.

Connected Dialogue Bubble: All right, here we…

Panel 4

In this shot, Joey releases the ping pong ball in an exaggerated fashion, arm stretched out towards the top of the narrow panel as the ball flies towards the screen, jaw wide open as he screams triumphantly. The background is replaced with a fluorescent orange backdrop, darker on the edges and almost yellow in the center, with streaks running up and down similar to anime action sequences.

Joey: GO!!!

Panel 5

A zoomed out panel shows Joey’s opponent on the other side of the beer pong table, looking over his shoulder with his eyebrows arched as he traces the overshot ball. On the other side of the table in the background, Joey smiles hazily and even further behind him Sonny and Davis have exasperated looks on their faces.

Joey: Heh heh, bottoms up!

Page 3

Panel 1

Close-up of Sonny and Davis. Davis has an uneasy smile attempting to come off as reassuring while Sonny is looking around the area with an unsure look on his face.

Davis: Yeah… uh, nice one, Joey.

Sonny: Hey, have you seen Isaac?

Panel 2

Focus is on a random group of five college students, two women with one draping an arm over the other’s shoulder to imply they are in a relationship, another woman and two African-American men, standing in the middle of the dance floor conversing with a crowd of dancers and other mingling guests make up the background. The two men and one of the women are laughing and playfully gesturing to each other while the others look on with a carefree expression. Music notes hover over the crowd as well.

Man on the far right of the group: I mean, I knew this girl for like 2 days and she wanted me to go roller skating down the Jersey Shore! So there I was, hurtling down the boardwalk at 15 miles an hour on a couple of rusty old wheels bolted to some beat up shoes, trying my best not to turn into a human tumbleweed.

One of the two embracing women: A bit desperate, were we Aaron?

Panel 3

Aaron from the crowd shot in the previous panel is seen from behind, looking back over his shoulder in confusion. A few of the other members of his posse can be seen also looking at what he is looking at with a bewildered expression.

Dialogue Box from off-panel: Hey…

Panel 4

The panel is dominated by a young man awkwardly raising his hand to say hello, with a somewhat stiff smile. He has sloppy, shoulder length black hair and brown eyes while his gangly frame is clad in blue jeans and a grey jacket over a black shirt shirt. Behind him is a crowd of dancers, but unlike in the previous few panels, they are a considerable distance away and as such lack detail.

Young Man: Having…a good time tonight?

Panel 5

The shot depicts the group of five on the left of the panel while the new arrival still bears an uneasy expression. Aaron has turned half-way towards him, the front of his body now facing toward the camera, though his head is still geared towards the young man, trying to look inviting. The rest of the group has dropped their amiable body language and are now giving the new character a wary look. One or two members of the crowd behind them have also turned to look at the precedings.

Aaron: Uh, yeah… how about you?

Young Man: Pretty good, yeah.

Page 4

Panel 1

Point of view rotates 90 degrees to the left so that the two lovers are closest to the camera and Aaron and the young man are at the rear of the shot. Isaac has moved forward slightly and is now just right behind Aaron’s shoulder, wearing a slightly aloof expression. The two women have just re-engaged conversation with the other lone woman though the other man is still giving Aaron and the newcomer a slight side-eye.

Young Man: I’m Isaac.

Other Man: Well, hi Isaac.

Isaac: So did, you guys have a good summer.

Panel 2

Panel focuses on the couple and the lone woman, smiling lightly.

Lone Woman: Well, Aaron was just talking about that before you came along.

One of the couple: Yeah, and if I remember correctly, we were just getting to the point where you shatter your collarbone.

Panel 3

Shot is centered on Aaron while his posse of friends focuses their attention on him like a master storyteller, arms spread out wide to get attention. The group of friends should be arranged in a ring formation with Isaac jarringly standing off to Aaron’s side, noticeably throwing off the composition of the shot. Isaac sports an attempt at a kindhearted smile, gazing at Aaron as well. Other partiers in the background and off to the side of the group should once again blur into a monochromatic crowd.

Aaron: Yeah, yeah, so anyway, I’m trying my best to stay steady, and bless this girl, she’s really trying to spare my…

Isaac: Heh, heh, yeah…

Panel 4

A close-up of Isaac, whose smile has begun to falter and whose eyes have drifted downward, conveying a cross between bored and uneasy. The blur of dancers behind him seem to be a little closer.

Isaac: Uh-huh

Aaron from off panel: …and thank god she wanted to… get some ice cream so I could finally…(text should be distorted and drawn out) sit down…

Panel 5

Isaac’s expression looks even more unsure here, as he is now looking down and away from Aaron and his brow is angled downward to appear antsy. The blur of dancers behind him seem to be a little closer still, and a few of them are more noticeably turned towards Isaac.

Isaac (thought bubble): Uh, he’s still talking isn’t he? Well, might as well try to add something to… what was he going on about?

Connected Dialogue Bubble: It’d be so much easier to focus if it weren’t for this music…

Aaron from off panel (text is malformed, bleeding almost): but the minute…I got back up… I slammed right into some… bleach blonde walking her poodle…

Clear cut dialogue in the bottom right corner: Isaac!

Page 5

Panel 1

Isaac takes up the left side of the panel as, with his head still hanging down and hair almost obscuring his eyes, he gazes off towards Sonny and Davis who are currently jogging over towards him. Aaron and his friends are not seen on panel and the dancers are now individually colored and have returned to normal hues.

Sonny: Hey man, we lost track of you. How are you holding up?

Isaac: Oh, fine. I was just hanging around with...

Panel 2

The ring of friends are shown from Isaac’s point of view walking away, one of the two lovers with an arm over the other’s shoulder the other woman holding a beer cup up and the two men bringing up the rear.

One of the women: Let’s see if they have some pizza left.

Man other than Aaron: Yeah, let’s get somewhere a little less crowded…

Panel 3

Isaac looks towards the panel (at the departed group) with a slightly despondent look, hanging in the back, Sonny and Davis share a somewhat sympathetic look.

Isaac: …these guys… Aaron and the others…

Sonny: Well, that’s good.

Panel 4

Isaac, Davis and Sonny are all standing on the same plane. Isaac has his arms to his side and is childishly staring down and off to the side while Sonny stands over his shoulder with a stern look.

Isaac: Look, guys, I think I’m going to take off now.

Sonny: What? You hit your daily quota for social interaction?

Isaac: That and I have class tomorrow. I should probably get some sleep.

Davis: Come on, the night’s still young. Let’s go to the pool table and you can use your vector calculus wizardry to school some of those Alpha Beta Gamma meatheads.

Page 7

Panel 1

Isaac’s form walks towards the front entrance of the party, crowds of sociable college students flanking either side and seemingly forming a tunnel leading to the exit.

Isaac: Tempting, but I think I’ve had enough partying for tonight.

Panel 2

Davis and Sonny are once again the focus of this panel, with Davis predominately featured extending his arm half-heartedly with a sympathetic expression while Sonny lingers in the background shaking his head in frustration.

Davis: Isaac, wait! Think we should go after him?

Sonny: Forget it. The guy does this every time I try to take him somewhere. If he’d rather spend his time sulking, that’s his decision.

Panel 3

This shot shows Davis beginning to head off from his position in the last shot with a haughty, self-assured smile directed straight at Sonny. Sonny merely arches an eyebrow in disbelief.

Davis: That might be true, but maybe I can talk some sense into him. I mean, maybe he just needs the right kind of guy to get him to come out of his shell.

Sonny: Yeah, I’ve been taking a crack at that shell for two years, and I haven’t had any luck.

Davis: Well, maybe I’ll have better luck. You know, like when you can’t open a jar, and you have to pass it off to someone and then (POP) it opens! Anyway, I’ll make sure he gets home safe. Goodnight!

Panel 4

Here, Sonny is reaching out and yelling to Davis, who has already left to find Isaac, looking both bewildered and flustered. To his left, Joey stands hunched over, his expression dazed and slack jawed, clearly drunk.

Sonny: Get home safe… Wha… hey! Davis, come back! Who… Who’s going to be my pool partner.

Joey: Dude, I got… I got your back. Terry turned me down for a (urp) second rematch, so I’m free to…

Panel 5

The back of Joey’s hunkered frame makes up the bottom of this panel. Above it, we can see Sonny, and a collection of students grouped around his left and right, shirking away in disgust. Joey’s arms and shoulders are positioned to suggest that his hands are raised up to the sides of his mouth while he is vomiting, if this was not apparent.

Joey: BLAAGH!

Page 8

Panel 1

We change scenes once more, now focusing on the young woman passing out fliers from Page 5 Panel 3 (Geena Jones). She carries an optimistic, if not wary smile and holds a still thick pile of fliers close to her chest and stands on the left side of the screen. On the right, a group of teenagers in hipster clothes and apathetic expressions hurdle over a blonde girl in the center scrutinizing the paper.

Geena: You know, if you need help filling your electives, the drama department still has several openings for Introduction for Acting and we need all the help we can for set design.

Blonde Girl: Yeah, great, so does this count as an art or a humanity?

Guy: “Set Design?” You mean, like, building stuff?

Panel 2

Most of the panel is dominated by the flier girl who gives a well-detailed, warm but somewhat forced smile as though she’s making a sales pitch to the two young folk.

Geena: Yeah, well, the theater department has never gotten that much funding, this being a STEM school after all, so we can’t really afford to hire crews to work on sets. We sort of… have to do that ourselves.

Panel 3

Reverse shot, this time we see Geena from the rear and the focus is on the guy and girl she’s talking to, both wearing incredulous expressions as the guy thrusts out his hands with his mouth wide open.

Guy: Dude! These hands aren’t for building walls! They’re for TEARING them down! With words! That my mind thinks up!

Panel 4

The Geena walks away from the crowd of students with a flustered look on her face and the stiff look of her arms suggest a brisk marching pace further emphasized by a few stray papers slipping out of her grasp and wafting in the air. In the background, we see her two earlier prospects, the guy no waving his arms around even more intensely as the girl looks on with a bit of concern.

Geena: Well, he’s passionate, I’ll give him that.

Guy: SMASH THE SYSTEM! ACTUAL REALITY!

Panel 5

Geena is now walking down a hall in the back of the house. The arch marking the beginning of the hall is just a few feet behind her, framing several rowdy party goers, and the light from the main room is cut off by the doorway, letting in only a ray of light and casting the rest of the hallway in shadow.

Geena: Maybe I’ll have more luck in this dark, spooky corridor. These places always have tons of impressionable, disaffected youth looking for an outlet for their angst!

Panel 6

Profile shot of the Geena walking down a hall deep within the building, the normal lighting and lack of strobe lights from the party sequences suggesting that she is far away from the festivities. In the center of a panel, a door lies in the background, slightly ajar.

Small font emanating from door: aduro, ardere…

Page 9

Panel 1

A simple shot of the Geena in the same hallway, looking over her shoulder with a curious look on her face, lips pursed.

Geena: Huh?

Small, almost indecipherable text on the bottom of the page: aduro, ardere…

Panel 2

Profile shot of the Geena cautiously rapping on the door, which is the slightest bit ajar.

Geena: Excuse me? Who’s in here? *sniff sniff* Is that smoke?

Panel 3

We have a shot from within the room the closed door leads to, which is completely dark. The Geena from the last several panels is gently peering through the slightly open door, though her face does not look directly into the room.

Geena: Probably just some kids who scored a couple joints. Hopefully they’ll spare a few. I could use something to unwind the way the night’s been going…

Small, but rigid, text near the bottom of the page: aduro, ardere…

Panel 4

Close up of the girl, who is in the middle of a coughing fit, clutching her hand over her mouth and hunched over slightly, with one hand on the frame of the door. The panel is filtered over with feint, dark purple patches of smoke near the top and bottom.

Geena: *huck hurk* Ugh, what is that? Hey…

Panel 5

This shot contains a close-up of a hunched over figure with disheveled black hair squatting on the ground, hunched over book lying open. Further in front of him, a crudely drawn diagram on the floor is highlighted by a steady flame rising out of the ground with wisps of smoke rising into 

Geena: Kid, what the hell are you doing?

Hunched Figure: aduro…

Page 10

Panel 1

The hunched over creature from the previous panel has turned his head over his left shoulder to reveal a nightmarish face. His skin is colored a sickly grayish-brown with bulging veins at the sides of his face stretching back down his neck. His eyes, compressed under a furrowed brow into an evil slant are solid yellow and out from his hair emerge two under-developed goat horns just beginning to spiral out of his skull. In the bottom corner of the screen, he raises right hand towards the screen, with its gnarly, overgrown fingernails sparkling with small orange flames whirling around his hand.

Demon: ARDERE!!

Panel 2

3/4th angled shot of the doorway to the ritual room from the outside, the Geena from the last several panels knocked backwards out the doorway by a large burst of flame billowing outwards. The fliers she once held now waft in the air, no more than chunks of black char.

Sound Effects: FWOOOM!!!

Panel 3

Sonny from the first few pages is leaning over a billiards table, trying to line a shot between a cue ball and solid blue ball into the side pocket, however his gaze wanders off to the side and looks bewildered. His opponents watch over him judgmentally while Joey stands off to the side looking woozy, leaning on his upright pool stick for support.

Panel 4

Nearly the exact same image as the previous panel, only Sonny is standing slightly more upright and is looking over to the right side of the screen, the other characters following his lead. Also, a slight tint of gray smoke fills the air at the top of the screen.

Sonny: Is… something burning?

Panel 5

The backs of Sonny and Joey line right side of the panel, as an excited member of the opposing pool team, throwing his stick aside, team points towards the hallway in the back of the room where the Geena entered and earlier. A ravenous flame emerges from the hallway in a plume of orange and yellow and it spreads to the bookshelf to the left of the molding. Partygoers on the right side of the panel react with fright as the flames continue to spread, cowering away and dropping plastic cups.

Pool Opponent: No s**t something’s burning, the non-fiction section! 

Page 11

Panel 1

In this sprawling image, all the partygoers from the issue, the beer pong combatants, the group Geena talked to and the group of friends Isaac was talking to rush out of the burning building. Some characters stumble, but others from their respective group help them to their feet, and we can see in the back ground that the fire has begun to enter the main room, consuming the edge of the door way in the back ground.

Panel 2

Sonny is maneuvering around the corner of the pool table as his attention is drawn to the right of the panel.

Dialogue Box from off-panel: Somebody! Help!

Panel 3

Perspective shifts to over Sonny’s shoulder as he runs towards the door at the back of the room, where we can see the Geena stumbling out of the hallway, the wall now comprising the left side of the room.

Sonny: Don’t worry, we’ll get out of here!

Panel 4

Camera angle switches so that we see Geena’s, right side and Sonny is in the background with an aghast expression, having literally stopped in his tracks. A gnarled, beastly hand of the  pyromaniac has clamped Geena’s shoulder, who shouts in response. Also, the flames have now begun to spread to the back walls of the room and run across the rafters in the ceiling.

Pyromaniac: No, please stay.

Panel 5

The camera is now looking directly down the hallway upon Geena, slightly hunkered over with the demon who started the fire looming over her from behind. His shirtless frame sports a lair of coarse black fur coating his torso entirely save for his lithe, but well-defined abdominals and pectorals. He speaks with an almost playful smile as he stares down at the helpless Geena, with his left hand only slightly leaning his weight on the woman’s shoulder to keep her pinned down while under his right armpit he holds the book he was using to perform his ritual. However, the demon is about the same height as the young woman, about 5’8” and only comes off as taller because Geena is bent at the knee, still slightly disoriented with her hands resting on her quads. She is looking down and off to the side as though angrily ignoring her assailant.

Demon: The fire needs a sacrifice to feed upon, and while wood and paper are good for the digestion, human flesh burns so much more easily, so flavorful…

Panel 6

Gritting her teeth and looking to the left just enough to see the demon in the corner of her eye, Geena forcefully drives an elbow into the abdomen of the fire demon, causing him to double over, his left hand releasing the woman and his right arm flaring out from the shock of the blow, letting his book drop to the ground.

Geena: Guess it’ll have to settle for goat!

Page 12

Panel 1

Still hunkered over slightly, the demon’s left hand still rests over his abdomen, though his face bears a look of annoyance more than agony as he gazes upwards towards Geena, who has gotten a few feet ahead of him and has now entered the main room, bearing a panicked grimace as she runs for dear life. Sonny can also be seen in the background off to the left, gazing at the demon in disbelief, but his body language conveys he is ready to sprint for the door as well. The fire has now started to spread to the bookshelves and some of the furniture along the back half of the room.

Demon: You actually think you can get away?

Panel 2

The Demon extends his right arm forward to launch a fireball.

Sound Effects: Fwoom!

Demon: ADERE!!

Panel 3

Headshot of Sonny’s face shouting.

Sonny: Watch out!

Panel 4

Sonny tackles Geena from her right side and they both are sent hurtling towards the ground, but are knocked out of the way of the fire ball, which continues to sail past them and take up a majority of the page. In the background, the demon can still be seen chuckling to himself.

Demon: Hehehe…

Panel 5

Sonny and Geena are on their hands and knees, just bracing themselves to stand up, facing the door out of the library, which has now caught ablaze from taking the impact of the fireball. Even though it as ajar at the time of impact from the rest of the partygoers mass exit, the door frame and door itself are engulfed in flames with only a few inches in between, leaving too little space for them to escape safely. Some of the embers have also started to ignite the window curtains on the windows flanking the door and a rug in front of it.

Demon: I might have missed my mark, but it doesn’t matter…

Panel 6

The Demon now stands erect over Sonny and Geena, who have rolled over and have turned to face him, leaving the back of their frames to the viewers, and the worm’s eye view of the panel makes the less-than-imposing stature of the Demon look downright towering. His muscles are even noticeable more defined than earlier, with a few veins to give them an unnaturally boosted look as his body is now coated in wispy red-orange flames. The room is also starting to gain a red-orange glow as the flames continue to spread along the walls and furniture. Some fire begins to lap along the edge of the pages, but is not close enough to present any immediate harm to our human characters.

Demon: You miserable humans will be my tribute to this beautiful blaze, and in turn, it will give me the power I have so long desired.

Panel 7

A downward shot of Geena and Sonny still on the ground, in the exaggerated shadow of the demon cast by the fires concentrated by the blaze in the hallway behind him. Both look up at the monster with a cross between loathing and unease. Said shadow has his arms raised and palms upturned with fingers spread out as he generates and orb of fire in each hand.

Demon: Let that comfort you as your flesh burns to ash…

Sound Effects coming from behind Sonny and Geena near the top of the page: creak…creak…creak…

Page 13

Panel 1

A close-up of the exposed wooden beams that make up the ceiling over the entryway, which have not yet begun to burn. Emphasize the rich, brown color of the wood to contrast against the saturated reds of the last few panels.

Sound Effects: creak…creak…creak…

Panel 2

Overhead shot of the Demon, Sonny and Geena. The Demon keeps a focus on his victims while Sonny and Geena’s attention is brought to the noises from above. The flames should also be visibly closing in on our heroes, again not close enough to immediately kill them, but to give the scene a claustrophobic feel.

Geena: S**t, the roof’s about to give.

Sonny: Crushed to death or burned? Not much of a choice.

Geena: Like we have time to choose…

Panel 3

Geena and Sonny tumble forward out of the way as roof collapses behind them, the remnants of ceiling beams and dust smothering the fire that had started to build on the rug behind them. In the foreground of the scene, the outline of the demon shoots a look at the pile of debris in surprise, notably the silhouette of a man crouching over it. The intense glow of the flames from the scene.

Sound Effects: CROOOM!!!

Panel 4

Head on shot of Geena and Sonny looking forward, with the demon behind them sneering in an unimpressed expression. Sonny has is arm raised slightly obscuring his face, but is still gazing at the collapsed wood with a look of shock, while Geena gawks in disbelief.

Sonny: *hugh* This whole place is going to go down soon! We’re dead!

Geena: Actually…

Page 15

Panel 1

Here we have the first shot of our titular hero, Aether. He stands upon the pile of collapsed wood slouching in his shoulders and the base of his neck, and his arms hang loosely to his side, but he is gazing forward at his would be opponent.

Geena (from off-screen): …I think things are starting to look up.

Panel 2

The back of Aether’s frame dominates the left third of the panel in the foreground while the Demon further in the background still looms over Geena and Sonny, Sonny now looking clearly at Aether with wide eyes. The villain’s arms are lowered and convey a mock-welcoming expression.

Sonny: A superhero fighting a devil? It’s official: I passed out from smoke inhalation and this is all some horrible hallucination!

Geena: Hey, he’s our only hope to get out of here, so you better not stop hallucinating!

Demon: Seriously? This is the champion they send to delay my age of fire? Some buffoon hiding his face…

Panel 3

Close-up of Aether raising his hand at the screen, what we can see of his face conveying his looks almost board with his opponent.

Panel 4

Close-up of the Demon’s head as it lurches backwards, eyes flaring up in shock.

Demon: ack…

Page 16

Panel 1

Profile view of the Demon as he has his body slammed back against the rear wall of the lobby, motion waves and other visual effects should be used to convey the sudden impact. Perhaps draw some books falling from the cases lining said wall.

Sound FX: *CRASH*

Panel 2

Geena and Sonny are once again on their feet, but still struggling to get steady, both looking towards the screen where the demon should still be pinned to the wall. Aether is a couple feet behind them, one of his arms still outreached while the other is reaching over his shoulder to where his cape goes into his shoulder.

Sonny: Whoa, did you just Force Push that guy?

Aether: Technically, he fell sideways.

Geena: Sarcasm noted.

Aether: I wasn’t being… Nevermind, look, you need to get out of here.

Sonny: Yeah, sort of the idea. Got any suggestions?

Panel 3

Aether is now standing directly behind Sonny as he attaches his now removed cape onto his shoulder, the young man now baring a shocked expression.

Sonny: Hey, what are you…

Aether: What? You said you needed a way to get out.

Panel 4

Aether and Sonny are on the left side of the panel, Aether’s cape is now unfurled and the bottom corners are now tucked upward and lined up with the top corners on the shoulder attached to Sonny. Geena is on the right, giving him a perplexed look.

Aether: Look, I know this is awkward, but I’m going to need you to hold on to each other for a while.

Geena: Seriously?

Sonny: Yeah, I mean, no offense, it’s just… I…

Panel 5

Aether abruptly grabs Geena by the shoulder and pushes her into Sonny, the latter caught off guard and recoiling slightly.

Aether: Come on, you don’t have much time!

Panel 6

The Demon is in a staggering position, one leg in front of the other and arms spread to steady himself as though he just managed to take a single step against whatever force was pinning him into the wall and his expression is one of frustration, eyes peering forwards as though glaring at Aether off screen.

Aether: Our friend just got his bearings and I don’t want you to get caught in the crossfire. That wasn’t a pun, I swear.

Page 17

Panel 1

Geena has her arms loosely wrapped above Sonny’s waist, but her focus is on Aether whose back takes up the foreground of the panel.

Geena: Alright, fine, but how exactly is this going to help.

Panel 2

Aether turns away from Sonny and Geena to face the Demon. Sonny’s eyes peak over his shoulder to notice that his cape is lifting off of his back slightly while Geena’s eyes flare out in an “Oh crap” expression.

Aether: It’s simple, really, the fire is causing an updraft. The hot air and smoke will gather under the loop of my cape, generating lift, and once I cut your gravity it will lift you to safety through the hole I made in the ceiling. Just make sure to lean forward once you get clear of the roof once you so you’ll make a safe landing outside.

Geena: Wait did you say cut our…

Aether: Relax, the cape is a mixture of kevlar and nylon. It shouldn’t burn up on the ascent.

Panel 3

A side shot depicting both the interior of the burning building on the bottom half and the roof above it as Geena and Sonny dramatically rise through it, both shouting in terror.

Geena and Sonny: AHH!

Panel 4

Upward angled shot of Sonny and Geena floating in the air, billows of smoke on either side of them. Both have stopped screaming and Geena is looking around while Sonny appears to be wretching.

Geena: Hold on, I…I think we’ve stopped. He said if we shift our weight forward, we’ll land outside of the building.

Sonny: Do we have to? I think I left my stomach down there.

Panel 5

Interior shot over Aether’s shoulder as he stares down the Demon. Said Demon raises his arms in a faux welcoming gesture.

Demon: Aww, it’s a shame our guests had to leave so soon…

Aether: Yeah, well, it’s a school night.

Demon: Heh, they’re no fun. Anyway, since you’re the only one left and the night’s still young, how about you and I…

Panel 6

Dynamic image of the Demon throwing a fireball at Aether, his fur standing on end and his muscles tense.

Demon: DANCE!!

Page 18

Panel 1

Aether sidesteps out of the way of the oncoming fireball. Given the nature of his powers, this looks more like his body being tugged violently to the side by an unseen tether. 

Aether: Heh…

Panel 2

Image of an end table and some chairs set up against the side of the library next to a pair of burning drapes. The furniture looks slightly crooked and has motion waves surrounding them suggesting they are vibrating.

Panel 3

Close up of the demon as he glances to his left with a confused expression, surrounded with similar motion waves as the furniture from the previous panel. These from now on will be known as gravity waves and be used to denote objects under the effect of Aether’s powers.

Demon: What…

Panel 4

Shot of the demon from his right profile as he looks over his left shoulder and sees two chairs and the end table hurdling towards him.

Panel 5

The Demon throws out his arms and the furniture is consumed by flames, already blackened and beginning to crumble to ash within. The flames covering his body are now much more pronounced.

Demon: Throwing furniture?  NOW it’s a party!

Panel 6

Aether is now behind the collapsed roofing he brought down to enter the burning building, attempting to lift a massive sheet of it covered in roof tiles.

Aether: Egh…

Page 19

Panel 1

The Demon stands triumphantly at the back at the panel, appearing to stand over Aether in the front, who is still on his knees attempting to lift up the chunk of roofing. To his side, the charred remains of the chairs and table have fallen harmlessly to his feet, the flames on his body whipping around as violently as ever.

Demon: Ahaha… So this is our mighty hero? Cowering before the final blow is even struck? Not that I blame you… with every moment that passes, your resources crumble to ash. Surrender was inevitable.

Aether: Oh, I’m not surrendering.

Panel 2

Profile shot of Aether now lifting up the sheet of roofing which leans at an angle over his form, teeth gritting in and combination of a determined scowl and a smile.

Aether: I’m just lining up my shot!

Panel 3

A small close up of the rows of bricks, trembling with gravitational waves

Panel 4

Dynamic shot from over the Demon’s shoulder as several of the bricks are ripped from the shingles and come hurtling towards him from the small barricade on the other end of the panel.

Panel 5

The Demon has his arms raised to shield his face and chest from the assault, but a few of the bricks have collided with his torso and forearms, his scowl suggesting that he is in pain.

Aether: Don’t bother countering. Masonry bricks don’t burn as fast as wood or fabric, so I figured they’d be perfect for an attack.

Panel 6

The Demon has lowered his arms and is scowling back at Aether’s direction, though we only see him from the shoulders up.

Demon: A… petty diversion. But now that you’ve used up all your ammo, you don’t have any tricks left and I can… ah…

Page 20

Panel 1

Upward shot of the Demon’s body as he looks over his form with horror and notices that some of the ceiling tiles are still stuck to his forearms and torse, having smothered the flames on his form where they made contact, wisps of fire and smoke seeping out from underneath while the fire on the exposed patches are a paltry version of their former self.

Demon: Wha… What sort of parlor trick is this?

Panel 2

The foreground of the shot depicts the demon struggling to tear one of the bricks off of his forearm, but can’t, as conveyed but a slightly panicked expression on his face. In the back of the panel, Aether has arisen from his bunker and is now stepping over the debris, hunched over and his blank eyes aimed straight at the reader.

Demon: Urgh… agh…

Aether: Their clinging to your body under the force of your own gravitational field. I couldn’t grab on to you when you were up in flames, so I figured I could use these to cut off the surface of your skin from the air.

Panel 3

Profile shot of Aether reaching out and seizing the demon’s wrist, who still grits his teeth defiantly even as he hunkers under the weight of the bricks clinging to him.

Aether: And now…

Panel 4

A shot down the length of Aether’s leg, bent at the knee but with the tips of his boot still visible past the foreshortening. Cracks in the wooden floor boards spread from under his foot.

Sound Effects emanating from the cracks: Creeeeek!

Aether: Let’s join the others outside.

Panel 5

Outside the building, we see an aloof campus security officer writing on a notepad, eyes angled up as he talks to someone off screen. The panel has a darker filter to it to convey that it is late at night and contrast heavily with the blazing inferno of the last few pages. Behind him, a group of bystanders being kept at bay by another officer can be seen and a fire truck is also present.

Security Officer: Okay, now, you sure that’s the alibi you wanna go with?

Panel 5

Geena stands exasperatedly gesturing in front of a police officer while behind her, Sonny stands huddled underneath the cape Aether gave him, draping it like a blanket over an accident victim. In the foreground, two firefighters run past with a fire hose towards the blazing building in the background.

Geena: I know it sounds crazy, but there really is a demon in there! He’s responsible for the fire and then some guy put a cape around us and we flew out of the building by, well, cutting our gravity.

Security Officer: Did you say gravity?

Page 21

Panel 1

Downward angled shot of Geena, Sonny and the two firefighters looking upward in awe, though Geena’s is more of a cocky smirk. A shadow resembling a humanoid figure dragging something behind him looms over them. The officer looks down and reaches for his walkie.

Security Officer: Dispatch? This is Lt. Dean responding to the St. Jane Claire fire. It’s a Code Cape.

Panel 2

Aether sticks his landing slamming the demon into the ground by his arm, motion lines angling outward from the point of impact and creating a visual shockwave. The blazing building can still be seen in the background, though the flames surrounding the demon are all but extinguished, and the impact of the landing has dislodged some of the bricks clinging to his skin.

Panel 3

The Geena and Sonny move in closer to Aether, along with the security officer who looks downright baffled compared to the others as he leans in to better examine the monster. Aether now stands with a rather non-chalant expression, looking over the now barely conscious demon. The two firefighters rush past them in the foreground, dragging a massive fire house.

Sonny: So… uh, is he still alive?

Aether: Well, based on the speed of our ascent, and his muscle density plus the added weight of the bricks, he should be fine in a couple hours. Plus, I figured that now that we’ve cut him off from the source of fire, he should be easier to handle.

Demon: …uhhh *cough*

Panel 4

Upward angled shot of Aether and Sonny, the former conveying cold indifference while Sonny looks back with slack-jawed suspicion. Geena is slightly out of focus on the far left, next to Sonny.

Aether: I’m going to need the cape back.

Sonny: Oh, yeah. Anyway, thanks for, you know, saving my life back there.

Aether: Well… it’s just part of the job. Now I need to figure out where this guy even came from.

Panel 5

Shot rotates so that the camera Aether’s back is to the camera and Geena is seen in better clarity speaking up matter of factly. Further in the background, the crowd gathered to check out the fire is whipped even further into a frenzy at the arrival of Aether, with some brandishing camera phones. Sonny is slowly stripping the cape from his shoulders, still looking at Aether with a bit of confusion.

Geena: I saw him before the fire broke out. He was doing something weird in the backroom, chanting in Latin and I think he may have had a spellbook or something.

Aether: Spellbook in the backroom… Guess I’m going back into the inferno again. Excuse me.

Crowd: Holy crap, is that him? ... I thought he was just a rumor… 

Page 22

Panel 1

The back of Aether’s form takes up the left side of the screen, while Sonny looks back at him a bit taken aback still, brandishing the cape in front of him.

Aether: My cape, please?

Panel 2

Camera reorients to show Geena, Sonny and Aether from the front. Geena is arching her eyebrows as though she is annoyed at being snubbed, while Aether is fussing with getting his cape reattached to his outfit. Sonny’s hands still hang in front of him limply from when Aether pulled it away from him and Aether still has a stoic, indifferent expression as he reaches behind his head. The burning building is in the background and the two firefighters are now getting to dousing the flames with their hose.

Aether: I’d like to get back into the building to see what was going on.

Sonny: Sorry, just got a little distracted.

Panel 3

Aether is now striding towards the burning building head drooping and looking off to the side so that a single yellow eye still gazes back towards the reader. The firefighters are still off to the side pumping water through the front door and have done a good job of clearing the blaze from the front doorway.

Aether: Yeah, well, I’d recommend you get out of here, and maybe keep our friend here away from any sources of heat. Maybe have these guys give him a shower before you take him in.

Panel 4

Side view of Aether about to walk back into the burning building without a single care as the firefighters shouts out to him. Aether doesn’t even make eye contact with them.

Firefighter: Are you crazy? You can’t just waltz in there!

Aether: Relax, I just need to check out a book.

Second Firefighter: Yeah, forget the fire! A building this old, the structural integrity will probably give out any minute.

Panel 5

Shot from inside the library looking out the doorway which has already been extinguished and is now a charred black. Aether has just passed through the doorway, looking forward and the two firefighters can still be seen in the background, one slightly leaning away from the hose as if to pursue him.

Aether: Oh, I know. In fact, the portico would have collapsed ages ago if I wasn’t lightening the load.

Firefighter: You were what?

Panel 6

Another exterior shot, this one showing the firefighters recoiling in shock as the portico of the library collapses, obscuring the front door entirely.

Sound Effects: Crunch.

Page 23

Panel 1

Shot of Geena and Sonny. In the background, two more well-built, professional looking members of law enforcement are picking up the Demon’s barely conscious body. Geena scowls slightly while Sonny looks on despondently. Lt. Dean is further in the background playing crowd control.

Geena: Heh, I know the guy saved our lives, but his people skills definitely could use some work.

Sonny: Yeah…

Panel 2

Sonny turns away from Geena and the burning building, the camera hugging his face closely. He still has a wistful look on his face, deep in thought.

Sonny: Reminds me of someone I know…

[pikagatogirltits]

I've been thinking about this, and I think a lot of that is because all the changes they did make still fit the spirit of One Piece.

It helps that they worked closely with Oda, and that Oda held a lot of power in vetoing any changes he didn't like. And it's also clear when reading what Oda had to say in interviews that Oda understood that there would need to be changes and that the point wasn't to stick super close to the manga or anime, but to play to the strengths of a live action show. Like dialogue for example, Oda mentioned in one interview that he has to carefully balance how much dialogue there is in the manga because lots of dialogue means less art. But that's not something a live action series needs to worry about, and in fact that kind of minimalist approach to dialogue can be bad for live action.

But even aside from Oda's involvement, I think it also really, really helped that a lot of the cast and crew were fans of One Piece. More importantly... they're the kind of fans who actually respect the source material.

Like...you see it with stuff like comics or Star Wars or other long running nerd media...a self professed fan will take the reigns on some new project and it's clear from how they talk and how their project is written that they see themselves as a true fan that sees the flaws in the source material and this is their chance to fix it, make it appeal to other real fans like themselves.

But the live action One Piece clearly doesn't view the changes it makes as attempts to fix things (well, except maybe toning down Sanji but that's a genuine criticism about One Piece that's pretty valid and toning down Sanji's creep factor and reverting him back to his initial "chivalrous simp" personality was 100% the right call.) It treats them more as chances to express themselves and lean into the limits and strengths of the medium they're working with. And they're clearly trying to balance making this a love letter for fans and something accessible to new watchers.

Sorry to randomly gush on your post but I was pouring through a lot of the prerelease interviews and promo stuff and I just...as a writer myself, as a media buff, and as a One Piece fan, I really am in awe at how many elements were carefully brought together to make this as good as it is. You're right that it's impressive. There's a lot of lessons to be learned from this about what makes a great adaptation, I can only hope that Hollywood can learn at least a fraction of them.

Its actually extremely impressive that the team behind the live action one piece managed to change so much of the show but still be so good that the hardcore fans of the show arent rioting about the changes. Like there has never been an adaptation i’ve seen that has changed so much and gotten so little flak for it

[marigraphia]

tfw você é o cavalo pálido da morte mas também o espírito protetor dos tapauérs

[iant0jones]

I wanna do interior design so bad ;__; but like. Only for cool people. If you’re a normie I simply cannot work with you

[nedandsara]

ned and sara have a bad day

[kidstemplatte]

the greatest (teaser)

the universe presents copia with an opportunity he’s been waiting his whole life for: fatherhood.

pairings: story focuses on dad! copia, however, reader is terzo’s wife.

warnings: mention of suicide

this was originally supposed to be a 3 part series, this post being part one, but i’ve decided to make it all one big fic! this post can serve as a little sneak peek :)

“You’d be a good Papa.”

His niece’s kind words still echoed in his mind, even after five years.

The Cardinal had wanted to become a father for quite some time now, but wasn’t sure if he was fit for the job. He himself was a bit of a child, which could be considered a pro or a con; the upside being he was fun and pure-hearted, the downside that he could be a tad chaotic.

When Copia was summoned to Sister Imperator’s office, he assumed it was because he had forgotten to turn off the stove again or left the sink running, habits from his youth he was yet to abandon even as a middle-aged man. Bracing himself for another lecture, the Cardinal took a deep breath in and out before knocking three times on the sturdy oak door.

“Come in.” A hoarse voice rang from within the room.

Copia gently pushed the door open and entered the lavish office. Sister Imperator’s office couldn’t differ any more from the Cardinal’s, sporting a classy yet minimalistic aesthetic decked in shades of brown and black. Meanwhile, Copia’s office had “Copia” written all over it in big cartoonish block letters, thanks to the dozens of figurines and comic books lining the shelves, as well as other dorky memorabilia.

Sister Imperator sat behind her meticulously organized desk, clasped hands resting on the polished wood.

“Hello Sister.” Copia greeted the woman formally, bowing his head as he took a seat in the plush chair across from hers.

“Cardinal.” She returned the greeting with a brief nod, before instantly began diving into her reason for his summoning. “Do you recall, a few years back, when a Sister of the Austrian chapter took her own life?” she inquired.

That was a rather rough introduction to a conversation. Of course he remembered, how could he not? It was a tragic day, each chapter holding their own memorial ceremony for the young woman.

“Oh. Si, I do.” Copia answered, saddened at the remembrance of the event.

“Well, she had a son additionally, who had an absent father.”

Been there.

“They have done their best to take care of the boy since he was just a newborn- he’s resided in the church his whole life- but as he’s gotten older, they’ve decided it’s simply not fit for him to grow up without a permanent system of support.” She explained.

Copia suddenly became much more alert, his eyes widening and posture straightening. “You mean… a family?”

“C, if you’re interested…” Sister Imperator noticed a longing in her son’s eyes that she had not seen in a long time- not since he was but a child brimming with curiosity, a subtle glow that surfaced only when he wanted something deeply, most of the time, an answer- but this time- it was more than curiosity, it was yearning. “Now would be the time.”

“Yes.” The Cardinal blurted out. “Yes.”

“The adoption process is not easy- yet alone raising a child. This is a massive responsibility. Are you sure you are able to handle this on top of a Cardinal’s duties?” She cautioned him.

“Yes, Mother.” He reiterated. She froze.

“I want this more than anything.” He pleaded.

“I will notify them of your consideration.” She nodded.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. Grazie. Grazie.” The Cardinal repeated like a mantra, placing his hands together as he bowed his head in gratitude.

•✧•

Gently shutting the door to your son’s room, you walked down the hall and into the living space, pleasantly surprised to see your brother-in-law sitting in a lounge chair across from the couch. “Hi, Copia! What a nice surprise.” You greeted him with a smile. “Sorry, I just put Vinnie to bed. Am I allowed to join, or is this a brother talk?”

“Please, join us.” Copia gestured. “Is Violetta here?” he asked.

“She’s in her room. She’s not feeling very well tonight.” answered Terzo.

“Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Let her know I said hello.” Copia responded.

“Will do. So, what is going on?” Terzo asked, reaching to the coffee table in front of him and pouring his brother a glass of wine before setting it down.

Copia took a deep breath in and began. “Sister Imperator called me into her office today and gave me some news.”

“News that..?”

You elbowed Terzo in response to his impatience. “Let the man speak!”

“Eh, do you remember when a woman of the Austrian chapter, um… She took her own life?”

“Johanna?” You asked.

“You knew her?”

“Not too personally, but yes. I met her years back when I studied briefly in Innsbruck. She was a lovely woman.” You recalled, sadness beginning to tug at your heart. “Sorry, continue.” You dismissed yourself, knowing if you continued, there would surely be a few tears.

“Oh, no, do not apologize. Please, continue, if you are comfortable.”

“Okay.” you sniffled, laughing nervously. “There’s not much else, it’s just- it was sad. My bad, go on.”

Your husband placed a loving hand over yours, a subtle way he reminded you that you were safe with him.

Copia nodded. “Well, she had a son, who has lived in the church his whole life. But, um, they are considering finding him a more traditional… family.” He explained.

“Here?” Terzo inquired.

“Si, ah… with me.”

“You are adopting him?” Terzo lit up.

“If everything goes according to plan, yes.” He replied slightly hesitantly.

“You’re gonna be a dad, Copia!” You nearly cried, your face lighting up with joy.

He laughed, a smile grazing his face at the idea. “Ah, well, we don’t know for sure yet. The process is a bit difficult. I fear it won’t work out.” He responded.

“Copia, you can’t mourn the loss of something that’s just beginning!” You encouraged him.

“Do you really think Sister Imperator would ever propose such a thing to someone she didn’t trust could do it?” pointed out Terzo.

“That is a good point.” Copia replied. “I just… even if it works out… what if I am not… good?” He rambled anxiously.

“Not good? Our kids can’t get enough of you.” Terzo reassured his brother.

The Cardinal smiled at the thought of his niece and nephew.

“So what do you know about him?” You asked eagerly.

“Well, ah, that’s actually all I know… And that he’s five years old.”

“Oh my gosh! He’s the same age as Vinnie! It was meant to be!” You gushed, excitedly waving your hands. “Copia. I think it’s gonna happen. I really, really do.”

“Thank you, Y/N.” He expressed his gratitude with a heartfelt smile.

“Mommy?” You heard a voice squeak in the distance. Turning around in your spot on the couch, a small figure stood down the hallway.

“Hi, Vinnie. What’s wrong?” You asked, a gentle tone adorning your voice. “Excuse me, I’ll be back.” You told your brother-in-law and husband as you rose to your son’s aid.

“Copia.” Terzo addressed his brother, his voice suddenly earnest.

“Yes?”

“When have I ever lied to you?” Terzo inquired.

Pondering the question and recalling no particular incident, he shrugged.

“Exactly. You can do this, Copia. And you will.”Terzo uplifted the Cardinal, his words touching the heart of his beloved half-brother.

“Thank you, Terzo.”

Terzo smiled, reaching across the table to pat the Cardinal on his shoulder.

“I mean it, fratello.”

•✧•

That night, Copia closed the door to his small abode and let out a hefty sigh. His expression softened a little as he caught sight of the large cage sitting on a table against the wall, inside containing two furry friends. Inside of the enclosure stood a dusty brown rat perched on his hind feet and clutching onto the metal bars, eagerly waiting for his Papa’s return.

“Ciao, Bean.” Copia cooed, opening the drawer below his cage and opening their bag of food. “I’m guessing your brother is…” Copia scanned his eyes around the cage, his suspicions confirmed once he noticed Pesto’s nose peeking out from a small wooden hideout. “Ah, did I wake you up, my Bestie Pestie? I apologize. Buon appetito, little ones.” He said, opening their cage and pouring their food as the little rodents scurried to their bowls.

That night, the Cardinal felt inclined to do something he hadn’t done in a long time. Overwhelmed with an immense sense of desperation, Copia prayed on his own in the solitude of his room. He knelt beside his bed, knees on the hardwood floor as he placed his hands together and shut his eyes tight, a soft sigh escaping his lips before he began his prayer.

“Tua empietà, so che è passato un po' di tempo. perdonami, ti prego, ma devo chiederti una cosa. per favore, satana, concedimi il dono della paternità, per favore. Farò qualsiasi cosa, viaggerò all'inferno e ritorno, per trasformare questo sogno in realtà. Prego che il ragazzo stia bene e al sicuro e trovi la sua nuova casa tra le mura del clero.”

He needed this. More than he had ever needed anything in his entire life.

Little did he know, the boy needed him just as much.

•✧•

hey y’all! i’m so sorry it’s been so long!! i’ve been doing college stuff and my motivation has been 📉 but i have so many ideas i want to put out there!!! i have two more parts planned for this fic:) i hope you enjoyed! i’m sorry this part is very brief but i wanted it to serve as a little introduction! tysm for reading! i love y’all!

<3, alice

[write-a-circle]

France x america x englang, write whatever you want

frusuk domestic headcanons

pairing: france/england/america

content. fluff, romance

first request on this blog! i’ll go with domestic headcanons for this one, and sorry if it's not up to your expectations, i'm more used to writing reader inserts

A polygamous relationship, but a hella chaotic one. There doesn’t go a day where there isn’t a childish quarrel between two of them, maybe even three if the other one’s in the mood

Argument pairs include the two classics of France-England and England-America

If they live in a house, then France will obviously not let the other two set a single step inside the kitchen. America could be the exception sometimes, but England? Hell no, that British cooking is not getting into his kitchen for as long as he lives.

“Our kitchen, France.” “Please, since were you a communist?”

Of course, breakfasts are exempt from this rule, as an English breakfast is tolerable in France’s dictionary, and France is not an early riser so it would usually be England who prepares breakfast.

France ain’t complaining though, he gets to see England looking cute in an apron and avoid food poisoning.

America just eats everything his lovers prepare. Like, literally anything would do. France’s amazing, delicious, superb and delightful cooking? In his stomach, no questions asked. England’s yee-ass meals? Good food, he’s full, gonna wash the dishes now.

They have matching mugs. They do not know how it got in, probably gifts from friends, but they are now an important part of the household. Drinks are always divided in the mugs, and America refuses to get his coffee from anything other than his mug.

As mentioned earlier, France is not an early riser. He likes to take his time in the morning to ensure the day is relaxing and enjoyable, from the start to finish. This pisses England off because it’s nine in the morning, why the hell is he still in the bathroom!? The food’s getting cold!

The Frenchman’s bedroom is very aesthetic, right down to the curtains and cupboards, incorporating warm and light shades of gold, cream and brown.

Ornate mirrors, gold patterning, velvet and silken sheets - seriously, the guy even has a chandelier in his bedroom. He’s just that extra.

It would probably smell like the various perfumes he keeps in there and his own natural scent.

America’s room has a bookshelf filled to the brim with comic books, particularly the superhero genre. He’s very proud of the fact that he’s got so many original editions of comics.

However, France does not dare to look at America’s room as it is also filled with so much technology, from computers to monitors to tablets and mouse and speakers and good god, what is that mass amount of black worms tangled up together?!

America does not how to do cable management.

England’s bedroom is very neat, tidy and minimalistic. There aren’t many decors, documents are stacked neatly on one side of the desk, and his smart devices which are equally well-kept - macbook polished and charger tied in a neat circle. he also has a collection of books he’s kept throughout the centuries.

He prefers to only use them when necessary (even with his smartphone), opting to spend his time doing something else like reading or playing with his magical friends (or reading to them, it’s a good idea).

It saddens England to know that America’s in the room next door while he reads stories to his magical friends, as England usually read him bedtime stories every night before their separation.

Speaking of which, you can find the fairytale creatures all over the house, whether it be lounging on the couch or in the bathroom s̶t̶e̶a̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ applying France’s beauty products.

Sometimes, America has nightmares. They can range from reliving his trauma to nonsensical ones (his hamburger turning against him and chasing him). He wakes up in cold sweat and immediately thinks of coming over to one of his lovers��� rooms for the night, but swallows the urge to because of his insecurities - even if the relationship has been on for a while now, he doesn’t want to be seen as vulnerable.

Whenever they go out, France would stop the other two at the door and turn them back because good lord what are those outfits!? Not to worry though, he’s got them covered in the fashion department, and if they still don’t have suitable clothes they can always borrow from his wardrobe! Be quiet England, they’ll be fashionable late to the appointment, literally.

America’s health also gets better through a series of adjustments, discourse and explosive arguments (mainly the latter two) about the sheer amount of crap that’s in the hamburgers and milkshakes that he inhales daily. Even England is horrified.

The only time of day when England and France truly seem to be at peace (other than about America’s diet) is when they partake in daily afternoon tea parties. Sharing treats and the other kind of tea on the countries is very relaxing for the two of them, and lately America’s joining the tea culture with them, too. If only he’d contain his excitement and stop breaking teacups, though…

[valkerymillenia]

The Batman (2022)

Ok, so here's my non spoilery opinion on the movie.

It's good. It's very, very good.

Forget everything you watched on the trailers, they do not do the movie any justice.

First of all, they don't beat that dead horse again. Aka, we don't have to see the Wayne's die for the millionth time.

Second of all, both Pattison and Reeves understood the assignment.

This is a movie that was clearly written and directed by a comic book reader, it comes across well, not only in the way it's adapted and the characterization of the characters but also in all the subtle references and all the foreshadowing constantly being dropped.

It's also definitely not for children/younger audiences. And the fact that it's not constrained by the DCEU's family-friendly policies really shows. The old Comics Authority would have a field day with this movie

But, moving on...

The first thing you have to bear in mind is that this is a portrayal of a Batman that is young and still fairly new to his role, he has been at it long enough to be extremely effective and win over Gordon's trust but he's still very green emotionally, still discovering himself and his role and growing as a character.

We also see a return to Batman's true origins- the detective and the cryptid, long before he became just another fighting machine (although he still is an excellent fighter and absolutely brutal).

Robert Pattison delivered a very good portrayal of the character, the use of silence and anti social behavior were perfect (very emo but absolutely a young Bruce Wayne), as was his level of intelligence and his single-minded attitude. He clearly understands Bruce Wayne on a level other actors have not (perhaps because he actually reads the comics).

Zoe Kravitz also delivers an excellent performance as Selina, and for once we get a Selina that is actually her own character with her own development instead of just a sexy prop or supporting character for Batman. She's also at the beginning of her career and quite faithful to the essence of her comic roots (although with some twists).

Riddler is fantastic. If you are used to cartoony flamboyant Riddler or Jim Carrey's over-the-top Riddler, forget it. If you are used to awkward and nerdy but hyper competent, extremely intelligent, ruthless, death-trap loving Riddler from the comics though? You're going to love this guy.

Penguin's characterization is good. Very good. I can't go into more without being spoilery.

The visuals and editing are stunning, is it dark and gritty? Yes, it is, but not in the boring, minimalistic, militaristic, too real, dull grey of the Nolan movies, instead it's simply very modern gothic and the use of color is very well thought out, exactly what you'd expect from Gotham.

The music is good, I won't say it's phenomenal, it might not stick with you afterwards, but it's still very good and works really well to complement the scenes.

The wardrobe in general is excellent without being over the top (unless it has to be). And after seeing it in a different light, Pattison's mask is definitely a nod to Adam West's Batman in 66, the disassembled gun bat symbol is dramatic as hell but it actually works really well.

In my humble opinion it might be one of the best Batman interpretations in modern live action (I'm sorry, Keaton, my darling).

Is it perfect? No, no movie is.

But it's still very good and it has POTENTIAL to be so much more, Reeves gave us a lot of foreshadowing and laid down a lot of ground work for sequels that I honestly hope get green-lit but I can't discuss that without spoilers so I'll leave that in a separate review.